Clarity
by aquafina rain
Summary: Minako never thought in a million years that she would kidnap her boss. Unfortunately for the whole world, her boss just happened to be Relena Peacecraft.
1. Chapter 1

**one**

"Sally, babe!"

Sally Po wondered why she never bothered to lock her door when she was trying to meet deadlines. Although it was technically Une's place to handle budgets, Sally liked to oversee her own department. And sure, her department really consisted of only her and Wufei, but she learned (quite the hard way) that Wufei preferred to forsake stealth for explosives.

She had been staring at the current funds allowed for explosives and decided that Wufei would have to go with the cheaper manufacturer. She glanced over her laptop to find him staring at her with raised eyebrows. "Well?"

"We're going to have to go with the cheaper manufacturer."

"Why?"

"Wufei," Sally said patiently, and she tried not to add that little 'honey' that she always wanted to add whenever she addressed him. It was the way he acted like such a stubborn child sometimes. "We don't have the money."

"Then order these parts. I'll build my own."

He held out to her a stack of papers. Sally sighed. "You know I can't let you do that."

"Why not?"

Then her door burst open and Minako Aino barged in, bringing with her a white cat and an immediate headache. Wufei whipped around, glaring at the blond (and no doubt judging her attire, which was an obvious no-no in the workplace). Sally tried to smile. "I wasn't expecting you today."

Minako flew to the front of Sally's desk, flopping herself in the seat next to Wufei and crossing her legs. The cat remained perched on her shoulder. "What, I can't visit my favorite employer on my day off?"

She added a cheeky grin. The cat meowed.

"Did you need something?" Sally set down her papers, focusing her attention on Minako. She was exactly the opposite of Wufei, who, to Sally's slight amusement, was glaring at her with exasperation. Where Wufei sat straight in his ironed Preventers uniform, Minako was loud in her cropped red top, rolled up white pants and strappy, strappy sandals.

Minako was oblivious to the look Wufei was giving her; she put a finger to her lip, glancing up in pretend thought.

"Well," Minako said, "I was wondering if I could get an advancement on my next—"

"No," Sally said, shaking her head. The cat meowed again. "I'm sorry, Minako. They're doing budget cuts, and I can't afford to include your salary in my report."

"Oh come _on_," Minako said, leaning forward. Sally briefly wondered if the younger woman was trying to seduce her, as she had a good view down that low-cut top. "I've been doing a good job, haven't I? Keeping the peace and all that jazz?"

"Of course, but you _have_ been employed for only a month."

Minako fell quiet, leaning back in her seat. She puckered up her lips and glanced at her cat. "What do you think, Aretmis? Pull out the big guns?"

The cat meowed. Wufei gave an impatient sigh. Sally picked up that he was at his wit's end, meaning this conversation had to stop. "Minako, could we talk about this later? I was in the middle of something."

"Sure," Minako said, standing up. She gave Sally a tearful smile as she glanced at the ground. Her fingers played idly with the ends of her hair. "It was nice seeing you, though. Guess I'll talk to you later..."

"Are you trying to guilt me?"

"Only because I love you!" Minako said, brightening up immediately. "Look, Sally, you're smiling! That means I don't completely annoy you, right?"

Sally rolled her eyes. That was the thing about Minako—despite the fact that is seemed like she was going through the motions, she knew exactly what she was doing. That was part of the reason why Sally had looked to recruit her in the first place. "I really can't give you that advancement though."

"Not even half?"

Minako _dimpled_. Sally was pretty sure she didn't have dimples. She was also pretty sure that Wufei was staring at her with utter contempt as she heaved a sigh. She would never hear the end of it. "How much do you need?"

"Only half," Minako said, drawing back. Her fingers casually stroked her cat behind its ears. Sally wondered how she got the cat past security; then she remembered the big blue eyes. Minako always made good use of her big blue eyes. "I'm still a little behind on rent."

"I keep telling you to go for the full-time position, it pays more," Sally said as she rummaged through a few papers. She spotted the form she needed and pulled it out, putting it aside for later. "I can have your payment ready in two days."

Minako flashed a grin, scurrying around the desk to clasp Sally in a brief but tight hug. The cat somehow kept its balance as she pulled away. "You're the best!"

"I'm not going to do this again," Sally reprimanded. She shuffled her papers, giving Minako a slight glance. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"Actually," Minako said, as if the thought had just occurred to her. "Where's the press conference taking place? I was gonna stop by, check on things, make sure Yorkton's ready to handle the pressure."

Sally tried not to tell Minako to apply for the full-time position again. Instead she gave her employee a small, thankful smile. "In front of Tokyo Tower. You know how to get there?"

"Of course," Minako said with a wink. "Thanks again, Sally!"

"Hmph," Wufei said, barely audible.

Minako made her way to the door. She paused, her hand on the knob, before she turned back around. "Oh, I couldn't help but notice..."

"You always can't help but notice," Sally said dryly, but not without affection.

"I'm just saying! Those explosives, my friend works for Crown. I could probably snag a discount, if you want."

Sally raised her eyebrows, glancing at Wufei. Wufei seemed disinclined to answer, but she noticed the struggle he was in. He didn't want any help from the loud and overbearing Minako, but Crown was the lead manufacturer of explosives. Way better than the cheap stuff—and way out of their budget.

"I'll think about it," Sally said. "Thank you, Minako."

"Anything for you, babe!"

The door closed behind her and the room was quiet again. Sally started chuckling to herself. "Don't look so upset, Wufei."

"Normally I wouldn't ask," Wufei said, unhindered, "but who was that obnoxious girl?"

"I never introduced you?" Sally asked casually. She made a note at the top of the papers with information of explosives. "That's Relena's part-time bodyguard. I hired her about a month ago."

"Bodyguard?" Wufei was the type of person to look surprised in small ways. In fact, if Sally hadn't worked so closely with him, she wouldn't have known that the slight widening of his eyes and thinning of his lips meant he didn't know what to think. "She seems too obvious."

"You'd be surprised," Sally said, leaning back in her seat. "Minako seems like every other person once she's on the job. Of course, she's wearing the uniform, too, that might help."

"Hmph." Wufei stood up, his eyes sliding to the clock. All thoughts of Minako were instantly gone. "What time are we meeting with Une?"

"She had to cancel," Sally replied. "Something about Mariemaia being sick."

Wufei didn't respond. He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair, slipping it on. Sally watched him, marveling as she often did at how certain his movements were. There was no hint of hesitation in Wufei, nothing that even suggested that he was unsure. After all these years, he was still the same... She supposed it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Black?"

"Hmm?" Sally snapped out of her thoughts, finding him watching her carefully.

"Black," Wufei repeated. "Or did you want something else?"

The coffee, she thought. He was talking about the coffee. "Yes, black, whatever roast they have."

Wufei nodded, turning to leave. Outside, the snow was starting to fall. What the hell was Minako doing wearing sandals in the winter? Sally shook her head, stretching her arms above her head. Right before the door closed, she called out, "Tell the cute worker I say hi."

Sally didn't need to see Wufei's face to know he was very much annoyed.

**x**

"Aw shucks," Minako said, fastening the buttons on her jacket as she hurried down the street. "Who the heck thought it was a good idea to start snowing now, huh?"

Artemis pattered on silently beside her. Minako stuck her hands in her pockets as she neared the large crowd gathered at the base of the Tokyo Tower. She could see Yorkton, a large man in the standard Preventers uniform, standing off to the side of the stage.

"He looks worried," Minako said, more to herself. She slipped through the crowd easily, apologizing when she knocked over a child and his mother. Poor Yorkton, she thought. He had been Relena's bodyguard longer than she had, but he was also a nervous wreck. It wasn't hard to calm him down (usually Minako just flustered him to the point where he was too embarrassed to be nervous), but this was the first time he had front duty. She frowned, unable to spot others. It was unusual for there to only be one main bodyguard instead of three.

Budget cuts, Minako remembered. She sighed, shivering in her jacket. Her thoughts trailed back to how she accepted this job in the first place. It was entirely random, entirely coincidental, and entirely fated—random in that she had never expected to run into Sally Po at the supermarket, coincidental because she had been looking for a job, and fated because it began with Sailor V.

Eight years ago, Minako had regained her memories as the soldier of Venus. She had been thirteen and foolish, restrained to the life of a public school girl on Earth. The second she recollected all her memories of her past life, she knew that she couldn't stay idle. It had been something innate in her, she figured, the overwhelming feeling to do, to act.

So Minako put on a short skirt and a glittery red mask and snuck out at night into United Earth's Sphere Alliance hideouts. It was surprisingly easy, she remembered, to creep in unnoticed. She didn't actually engage in battle nor try to break into actual headquarters, no; her thirteen year old mind, though fearless of danger, was still afraid of death. Instead, she tinkered with what mobile suits she could find. She loosened a few screws, bent a few wires, punctured a few holes.

It wasn't much, but it was something. And two years later, Sally Po caught her.

Minako smiled, scooping down to pick up Artemis. He meowed, licking her hands. "Gross," she said, placing him on her shoulder.

Sally Po had changed everything. She had admonished Minako, given her a verbal beating that not even her mother had the guts to say. But at the end of it all, she had let Minako go.

"What?" Minako asked blankly. "You're not going to kill me?"

And it seemed to Minako that Sally had the saddest smile she had ever seen. "Of course I'm not going to kill you."

"But you just said if you were my mother you'd skin me alive."

"I'm not your mother," Sally said. "Go ahead. Go. I'll forget this ever happened if you stop putting your life at risk."

Minako bit her lip, holding back what she really wanted to say—that she wasn't risking her life, that she was just toying around, trying to play hero when she wasn't. Instead, she said, "Thank you."

She turned on her heel. Sally's voice stopped her again. "What's your name?"

"Sailor V," Minako called out, winking. Sally shook her head, giving her that sad smile again.

"Everyone knows who Sailor V is."

"Really?" Minako faltered, staring at the older girl. "But... How?"

"The public might not know what you do, Sailor V, but The Alliance does. You're quite the talk amongst soldiers, you know." Minako flushed at her words, feeling a bubble of pride swell in her.

"Cool," she said.

"I'm Sally Po."

Minako nodded slowly, disarmed by the earnest look in Sally's eyes. "Minako Aino."

Eight years later and a month late on rent, Minako bumped into Sally at the local supermarket. Two weeks after that, she found herself working part-time for Preventers as Relena Darlian's bodyguard.

Artemis's claws on her shoulder brought her attention back to the press conference. Giving him a flick on the nose, Minako turned her attention to the stage. She attempted to maneuver her way more comfortably in the audience, at least until she was in Yorkton's line of sight. That way she could give him an encouraging wink if he needed one.

Minako found herself right behind the press. They were all checking their cameras and recorders, rereading their notes to make sure they were ready. Relena Darlian's appearance in Tokyo was rare. She usually dealt with affairs concerning the colonies; it just so happened, however, that a few engineers in Tokyo were ready to launch the plans for construction of a new colony, near the L4 Langragian point. The proposed colony was small enough to not disturb any balance—but that also meant that it wouldn't be large enough for humanity to thrive.

Ami had explained it to her over dinner a week ago. The colony would only be for research purposes. For such a small colony, it would be pointless to try to have civilians. Although it wasn't confirmed, Ami was quite confident that it would be a base for preparations of exploring the idea of colonizing Mars.

At the thought of Ami, Minako smiled slightly. Though they all had been born in separate places (Makoto and Ami had both come from the colonies), they had somehow reunited. Again, Minako thought—chance, coincidence and fate. After Sally had put an end to her antics, she had gone back to focusing (or not) on her studies. And then suddenly there was Usagi, a new transfer student at school.

Usagi immediately latched onto her the second they locked eyes. "Minako!" she cried out. "Do you—do you remember?"

"Usagi!" Minako sobbed dramatically, clinging onto her friend. "Of course I do!"

After their tears had dried, Usagi explained that everything was almost the same. She had found Ami first, then Rei and Makoto—and finally, her. The last of the team. The only difference was—in this time and place, they were no team, they had no powers, and they were not senshi.

But it didn't matter. The five of them were together again.

"Vice Foreign Minister Darlian," a jarring voice cut into her thoughts. "Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. We will proceed from the left. First question?"

Minako slid her eyes to the podium where, as she had been off reminiscing about the past, Relena Darlian made her way onto stage. She was wearing her impeccable white suit, looking the very part of her role. Unlike her co-workers, however, Minako was not necessarily impressed with her.

It wasn't that she was unlikable (quite the opposite, in fact; Minako found Relena to be endearing when she wasn't yapping about business). It was rather that she couldn't understand what Relena had been thinking during the Eve Wars. Peace was admirable, yes, and attainable, but not through the means Relena had chosen. And true, Relena had admitted she was wrong during the Dekim Barton and Mariemaia Kushrenada conflict, but Minako couldn't help but think she was too young to be a leader.

Still, she didn't voice any of this. Her job was to protect Relena, not politically advise her. Relena was not Usagi.

Minako paused suddenly, her eye catching sight of something shiny on Yorkton's jacket. Her mouth went dry as she realized what the symbol on the pin was. Her hand clutched as Artemis's fur. "Do you see that?"

Artemis glanced up, his eyes narrowing at the pin. "That's the emblem of that organization."

"Shit," Minako said as a reporter in front of her asked Relena another question. Relena answered smoothly, her gaze steady. There had been another reason Minako had accepted Sally's job offer. It had less to do with the pay, actually, and more with the fact that Artemis and Luna had discovered a rebellion lurking under the Sanc Kingdom's fallen borders.

The rebellion was an unnamed organization, and they were relatively small. They hid under Relena, acting as her advisors while she, unaware of their intentions, protected them. Not a particularly big threat, so Minako didn't mentioned it to the Preventers. The problem, however, was that they somehow had possession of the Ginzuishou.

Minako deftly slipped between two reporters, managing to charm her way out of a glare with a smile. She continued to slide her way into the front, hoping that everyone was too focused on Relena to notice her.

Then her eyes caught sight of another pin on a reporter's jacket. It had the same symbol. She gave Artemis a quick glance; Artemis leapt off her shoulder and skillfully made his way around to the reporter. Minako turned her eyes back onto Yorkton; he was moving his lips subtly, speaking into a hidden microphone.

Minako couldn't read lips, but she could read faces. And Yorkton's face showed that he was tense, wound-up—not nervous, as she had first suspected. Up close, she could see the pallor of his skin, the dark bags hanging under his eyes. She also saw the way his eyes constantly darted to Relena.

Minako swallowed, finding herself at the front of the crowd. She scanned the area, finding nothing too suspicious about the surroundings. But she usually wasn't wrong about her gut instincts. Relena was saying something about progress, about advancement, about understanding and empathizing, and that was when Yorkton slipped a hand into his jacket.

Yorkton usually stood straight without moving during duty. Minako started, whirling around. The reporter with the pin also had his hand in his pocket. "S—someone—"

"Get out of the way," a reporter said to her, shoving her aside. She stumbled; that was enough to draw Yorkton's attention to her. His eyes widened as she gazed back at him.

So Minako winked. "Good luck," she mouthed, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. She could see on his face the wheels turning before he decided that she knew nothing. He flashed a brief smile before returning his hand into his jacket.

Big mistake, Minako thought, the smile slipping off her face. Artemis climbed back onto her shoulder, ignoring the reporters that were hissing at them to get down. "Minako, the microphone—"

Not Relena, Minako thought, he was looking at the microphone. And she moved. Leaping onto the stage was a piece of cake; she was as agile as when she had been captain of the volleyball team years ago. Relena jumped, looking visibly shaken. "What are you—"

Yorkton moved forward to grab her. His face suddenly betrayed his anger at writing her off earlier. Minako ignored him, pulling Relena around the waist and throwing her onto the ground. "Sorry, Miss Darlian, but—"

And then the microphone exploded. Minako covered Relena with her body, wincing as she felt something tear through her jacket. Relena was deathly still, clinging onto Minako's shoulder for dear life as more explosions rocked the area. They had the bombs laced throughout the crowd, Minako thought with a grimace.

She glanced over her shoulder, ignoring the piece of metal she saw in her back. Instead she tried to focus on Yorkton, who was calling out orders and pointing at them. Minako flew up, grabbing Relena and running. She could hear the screams of the civilians, as well as a few more explosions going off. Damn, she thought, what a night to be off-duty.

"Miss Darlian, are you alright?" Minako managed to ask, turning a sharp corner. Yorkton was still following them. They had to lose him, quick.

"What's going on?" Relena asked between breaths. Minako glanced back. Despite the fact that she was trembling, Relena's eyes were still steady. Well, at least she was a fighter.

"You might not remember me," Minako said through gritted teeth, "but I'm your new part-time bodyguard. And we need to get out of here."

There was something she had that Yorkton didn't, and that was the knowledge of the terrain. She pulled Relena into the nearest alleyway. Cheap trick, she thought, but that was the beauty of it all. No one suspected cheap tricks. And, true to her plan, Yorkton and his men flew right on past the alley.

"Come on," Minako said after peering around the corner. "We need to get to Roppongi."

Relena was wordless as she allowed Minako to pull her. Good, Minako thought. Because while Preventers were probably on scene and analyzing every angle of the explosions, she had another plan in mind. It sprang up suddenly, threatening to shock her into giddiness with how clever it was. Ami would have been proud.

Sorry Sally, she thought as she quickly found her car. She unlocked it and tucked Relena in, even fastening her seatbelt. "I can do that myself—"

Relena was cut off as Minako sped through the streets. Sure, it was snowing, and yeah, her license had been technically revoked, but this was life-or-death, do-or-die. "You're probably very confused," Minako said after she ran a red light.

"I remember you," Relena said softly. "Miss Andrews?"

"Something like that," Minako said with a grin. Then her back flared and she grit her teeth, trying to withstand the pain. She had forgotten about her little battle scar.

"Does it hurt? Are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me," Minako said as cheerfully as she could, even though she was sure the blood all over her seat was going to be a pain to clean. She turned a sharp corner and haphazardly parallel-parked. "We're here!"

"Where..."

As Relena stepped out of the car, Minako took a moment to breathe. This was it, she thought. Now or never. She had already brought Relena this far. There was no turning back. And on a second thought, Ami maybe would not have been proud. No, she was sure Ami would have a heart-attack. Good thing she didn't go to Ami first.

"Shouldn't we be at Preventers headquarters?" Relena asked. It was easy to see the suspicion in her voice.

"I had to pick something up," Minako said swiftly.

"It couldn't wait?"

"I'm anemic, you know, and bleeding to death," Minako lied. Relena's eyes widened.

"Then we should take you to the hospital—"

" Yorkton's probably got men there." Another lie, of course. If Minako weren't in it for her own gain, she might have felt bad for Relena. "This is where I've been staying the past couple of days. It'll only take a moment for me to get my first aid kit, don't worry."

She grabbed Relena's wrist and led her up the numerous stone steps. The view of the shrine beckoned her close; she couldn't help the wily grin that appeared on her lips. Despite what she had said, she had not, in fact, been staying here. There was no way the head priestess would even let that be a possibility. She glanced back at Relena, not at all surprised to see confusion written all over her face. "Miss Andrews—"

"Yes?" Minako interrupted, hoping to charm her questions away. Relena fell silent, shaking her head as they stepped up to the main shrine door. Minako didn't even need to knock; the door slid open with a bang and Rei Hino stood there with her hands on her hips.

"I just saw the news," Rei said, and although she seemed calm, Minako knew she was on the verge of throttling her for answers. "Is everything okay? What—"

Rei broke off, staring past Minako's shoulder. Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian shivered in the cold.

"Hey, Rei," Minako said feebly. "Long time no see!"

Rei continued to stare, this time turning her gaze onto her friend. Minako fumbled with her hands before she threw them up, exasperated. One could never defeat Rei when it came to staring. It was her specialty.

"I'm kind of in a bad spot right now, you know, stuck between a rock and some mud. I need your help."

"What did you do?" Rei said flatly.

"Well," Minako said, taking a deep breath and leaning forward so Relena wouldn't hear. "I think I just kind of kidnapped my boss."

* * *

**an** standard disclaimers apply.

ahhh oh man what am i doing? do people still read/write gwxsm fics? haha i'm not sure how fast updates can come along, but this is a plot bunny i've had for awhile and i finally saw endless waltz so... here this is! apologies if it is confusing haha. contrary to the summary and this chapter, i'm not planning for this fic to focus solely on minako and relena. all of the senshi and major gw characters will have a major focus. as for pairings? ;)

also... i did not know where to put this (crossovers vs the misc gwxsm section) so-o-o i'm leaving it here for now.

thank you for reading, and enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

**two**

There was blood everywhere.

Wufei grit his teeth, trying to hold in his resentment. The scene was blurred by the bright lights of the ambulances. He moved his gaze away from the injured, focusing instead on the debris. There was nothing left of the stage that Relena had once stood on. He walked closer, narrowing his eyes as he noticed something sparkling on the ground.

He didn't know why it caught his eye. There was broken glass all over the ground; everything sparkled. Still, something guided him over to the flash.

Wufei frowned, nudging the small pin out of the dirt. He retrieved it and slipped it into his pocket inconspicuously; although he was a Preventer, he still liked working with his own resources. He had the feeling that forensics would overlook too many things.

"Whose idea was it to have only _one bodyguard on scene_?" Sally was shouting at a meek looking man. "This is the Vice Foreign Minister we're talking about, you know better than that!"

"I—I know, but that wasn't my decision, ma'am, I'm just a rookie—"

"I am not a ma'am," Sally snapped. Wufei rarely had the chance to see Sally so worked up; even in dire situations, she was usually composed and gentle. There were, however, instances in which she snapped. This was one of them.

"I'm sorry," the man said, his body language pleading for forgiveness. "It was just—I was told we had budget cuts, and—"

"You put budget cuts before the safety of Relena Darlian?" Sally shook her head, rubbing her temple. "Where's Yorkton? Get him to me."

"Yes ma'am," the man squeaked, scurrying off. Sally sighed, catching Wufei's eye.

"Did you find anything?"

"No," Wufei said. He glanced around, unable to shake off the feeling that someone was watching them. "You?"

"Apparently it was a terrorist group," Sally replied. The look on her face, however, said she didn't believe any of it. "Relena was last seen being protected by Minako. I guess in the midst of all the explosions, they escaped."

Minako. Wufei thought back to the flighty blond who had barraged Sally's office. "No contact with her?"

"None," Sally said. This time a worried expression crossed her face. "She's usually good about this. She would have called me right away."

Wufei would never have put any amount of trust in Minako. In the brief ten minutes he had been in her presence, he had found her to be overbearingly confident. Those were the type of people he liked to avoid. Just because one was confident didn't mean that one had ability. "You trust her?"

"Of course," Sally responded, looking away. Wufei narrowed his eyes. Sally had hesitated, even if it were for a split second. She wasn't telling him something. Before he could ask (or rather, demand), a large man in the Preventer's jacket approached.

"Miss Po," he said, saluting her. Sally immediately focused on him.

"Yorkton, what happened?" she asked urgently. "Why was there only one of you? Who approved this? Last I heard, you, Halston and Urtuku were supposed to man the front while Song and Dorcha handled the crowd. Where did the rest of your men go?"

Yorkton swallowed. "I don't know how to say it."

"Spit it out."

Wufei almost smirked. He would have preferred this side of Sally if it weren't for the stress that accompanied it. Yorkton swallowed again, playing with the hem of his jacket. Really, how did he become a bodyguard with nerves like that? "Aino," Yorkton said. "She was here, and..."

"Yes, I know she was here." Sally crossed her arms. "What are you trying to imply?"

"Dorcha said she told them that their shift was covered," Yorkton said. "And—I don't know, Miss Po. I can only tell you what I saw."

"What did you see?" Sally's lips were a thin line. Wufei himself was suddenly regarding this Yorkton character with more scrutiny.

"She was slipping through the crowd very cautiously," Yorkton said, pulling at his collar. "I know what it sounds like. It can't be true, though, right?"

"What can't be true?"

"I—I think she set up the bombs," Yorkton finally said. He looked even paler as he continued to talk. "She tackled the Vice Foreign Minister right before the bombs exploded, as if she knew when they were going to go off. And then she ran."

Wufei kept his gaze on Yorkton as Sally closed her eyes. There was something not quite right, Wufei thought. From what he understood, Aino had left the Sally's office ten minutes before the press conference had started. That was not even close to enough time to set up the devices they found. There was the idea that she could have laid the bombs beforehand, but how would she have done that without being conspicuous?

Sally touched a button clipped onto her jacket; the mic on her collar was now live to Preventers Emergency Squad. "This is Sally Po from Current Affairs. All teams currently searching for Relena Darlian and Minako Aino—they can't have gotten far, so stick close to the area. If Aino is uncooperative, do not hesitate to use force."

"What can I do, Miss Po?" Yorkton asked.

"Give your statement to the Investigative Squad," Sally said. She turned to Wufei, giving him a look. "Let's go."

He caught the meaning in her eyes. Wufei waited until the doors of their car was shut before he spoke. "He had a smile on when you ordered Emergency Squad to use force."

"What else?" Sally's grip on the steering wheel was tight. "Tell me everything, Wufei."

"Why would Aino tell the other bodyguards that they did not need to show up? The other witness said it had to do with budget cuts. The stories don't match."

"I picked that up as well."

"There was something on his jacket," Wufei said. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the small pin he had retrieved before.

"That's what you found earlier."

"Hn." Wufei studied the symbol on the small pin. His eyes traced over the small rose with the shield backing it. The emblem was completely unfamiliar to him. Judging by Sally's slight glance, she had never seen it before either. She touched another button on her jacket.

"Investigative Squad, do _not_ let Tim Yorkton out of your sight. I repeat, do _not_. Keep him occupied and within Preventers jurisdiction until Relena Darlian is located. This is an order from Sally Po of Current Affairs."

Wufei turned the pin around in his hands. On the back there was an etching of a diamond. He frowned, keeping the detail in mind for later reference.

"No doubt the rest of the world knows about Relena's kidnapping," Sally said, more to herself. "That press conference was live."

"And what are we doing now?"

"We're going to Aino's apartment," Sally said. "She's too smart to camp out there, but she might have left some clues."

"Yuy has probably already been there."

"I'd rather go see it myself."

Somehow, Wufei had the distinct feeling that they were going in the completely wrong direction. The feeling intensified when they actually set foot in the place. Minako Aino lived in a small, modest apartment that she was probably paying too much for. It wasn't messy, but it was lived in.

Wufei did a quick scan of the living room as Sally disappeared into the bedroom. There was nothing out of the ordinary. He looked under the seats of the sofa, finding nothing but lint and loose change. The bookcase had nothing but manga and movies. His eyes strayed to the few photographs sitting on the coffee table.

Minako Aino was pictured with four other girls—one of them very familiar to him. Before he could say anything, Sally rushed out of the bedroom. "Wufei—"

She saw what he was looking at and smiled wryly. In her own hands she held framed picture. Wufei turned back to his own photograph. "I assume we've made the same discovery?"

"The cute girl from the bakery," Sally said with a nod. Wufei tried not to roll his eyes. The two of them had been stationed in Tokyo for the past two months, and in that time they had found a bakery that they quite enjoyed. Wufei usually stopped by daily to get their coffee from there; somehow, Sally had (wrongfully) assumed that he was there for the worker. "In other circumstances I'd call it coincidence, but in this case, I have a feeling something's up."

"Only one way to find out."

"Only one way to find out," Sally repeated. The two of them found themselves parked on the street and hurrying down the sidewalk in no time. They were met, however, with a dark shop and a sign saying 'closed.'

Sally sighed, closing her eyes again. Wufei glanced around, ignoring the bustle of people that passed. It had been rumored that most of Tokyo had been abandoned, that most of its inhabitants preferred the life of the colonies over Earth. But there were still a fair amount of citizens out and about, more than he thought he would see.

His eyes fell on the giant screen advertisements. Around them, everyone stopped and pointed. "Sally."

Sally opened her eyes, following his line of sight. She mouthed the words on the giant screen silently, turning pale.

"It seems like we're at war again," Wufei said. And although his voice was calm, he felt his heart race wildly. Sally grabbed his arm, hurrying him along. The ride back to headquarters was silent as Sally focused on the road. Wufei's thoughts fell back to his impression of Aino.

There were several different kinds of people in the world, and Wufei had learned to trust nothing of what they said but more of how they acted. Quatre, for example, could disarm anyone he met with a smile and a few words. Underneath the friendly disposition, however, was a mind that could easily read through people. Wufei was wary; he didn't know if Quatre was aware of how perceptive he actually was, and Wufei didn't want to find out.

And now Wufei was beginning to doubt himself about Aino. An outlandish outward appearance would perfectly mask a cunning mind. He only hoped that she was as capricious as she had put herself out to be.

Sally took the steps to her office two at a time, forgoing the elevators. Wufei was right at her tracks. They navigated the hallways, keying in their identification cards at the door at the end of the hall. Through the door was another hallway; Sally headed for her office, unlocking the door with her keycard and opening it.

The two of them were surprised (but not entirely too shocked) to see Duo Maxwell leaning over the desk, ruffling through a folder. "Oh, hey," Duo said casually, glancing up momentarily before turning back to the folder. "What took you guys so long?"

"Where's Heero?" Sally asked, her voice taking an almost resigned tone. She sat down in front of the desk, reaching over to pull the phone to her.

"Airport." Duo tilted his head, frowning at the page. "This girl is Japanese?"

"I'm assuming you have Aino's file," Sally said, picking up the phone. The screen it was attached to came to life. She quickly punched in the numbers she needed. "And yes, she is. From around the area here, actually."

"That means she knows where she's going."

"If she's going somewhere," Sally said. Duo raised his eyebrows at Wufei, who ignored him. Almost soon after Wufei had accepted Sally's offer of joining Preventers, Duo figured he needed to make a living off of more than just salvaging. He also managed to recruit Quatre, who had been juggling trying to restore damage to colonies under his father's name. Heero spent nearly a year in solitude before he eventually succumbed to the offer as well. A few months after that, Trowa showed up at Sally's door with an application in hand.

"What is Yuy doing at the airport?" Wufei chose to ask, watching as Sally waited for a connection.

Duo rolled his eyes dramatically, closing the folder and tossing it onto the desk. "That guy is convinced that Aino is going to try to flee to space. I told him there's probably no way, since Relena's face is sort of famous. We scoped the apartment, though, and we found emails from someone on a colony in L3."

"Let me guess," Wufei said dryly, not recalling any computer at the apartment, "he took the laptop."

"You guys were there too?" Duo shrugged. "Nothing interesting about her place, right?"

"Well," Sally said, playing with the ends of her hair absent-mindedly. "We tried tracking down one of her friends."

"I'm gonna guess you had no luck with that," Duo commented. Wufei snorted. "Anyway, what about that message? Apparently it's gone viral, broadcasted to major cities around the world—colonies included."

"Sally," a familiar voice said, interrupting them. Both men turned to the screen to see Lucrezia Noin, whose usually cool expression was marred with worry. "Please tell me you have something."

"We're working on it," Sally replied, calmly. "Noin, I need you to look into a few people for me. Simon Dorcha, Alistair Halston, Jaemin Song, Solomon Urtuku and Tim Yorkton."

"The bodyguards," Noin said, frowning. She glanced off screen for a moment before her eyes turned back to Sally. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking it was a set-up against my agent," Sally said, her voice unwavering.

"If it was a set-up," Noin said, looking perplexed," then why hasn't your agent contacted you?"

"I'm trying to sort that out." Sally sighed. Duo raised his eyebrows again; this time Wufei met his look with a dry glance of his own. "Urtuku has been with us for the past four years. Yorkton and Song are relatively new. They've all passed the screening tests, of course, they've had to in order to get anywhere near Relena, but their story tonight doesn't match up."

"If Informations didn't find anything wrong, what makes you think I can?" Again Noin glanced off screen. Sally smiled ruefully.

"You really trust the Information Department over yourself?"

"Got it," Noin said. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Let us know, please."

"Of course."

Sally cut off the communication, standing up and grabbing the folder Duo had abandoned. She flipped through it looking for something—anything—that would give her a hint. "You two probably think I'm nuts," she said, not taking her eyes off the words in the folder. Aino, Minako, born 180 A.C. in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. "But I've known Minako for awhile."

"You can't deny that something fishy's going on," Duo pointed out. "How do you plan on figuring out whether this girl is trustworthy or not if we can't even find her?"

By some miraculous divine intervention, there was a knock on Sally's door. Sally started. "Come in," she said, exchanging a glance with Wufei. It was after-hours, and most of the staff had been deployed on finding Relena. Who in the world would be looking for her now? The door opened and a nameless employee wearing the Preventers jacket poked his head in.

"Sorry, Miss Po, I know things are tough right now, but this lady here says she has something about Agent Aino. Seeing as we didn't publicize the details, I figured she should report to you right away."

Sally nodded. "Your name?"

"Russo, from Information." Russo nodded his head at Duo and Wufei before he opened the door further. Sally stood up, her eyes wide as Russo nudged the cute bakery girl into the room.

"I'm really sorry to bother you," the bakery girl said in rapid-fire Japanese, wringing her hands, "but I'm a friend of Minako's, and I know she's Relena's bodyguard, and I saw on the news what happened—"

"Slow down," Sally said, still trying not to reel at their good luck. "Please, start with your name."

"Kino Makoto," she said. She took a deep breath and let it out; it seemed to calm her nerves. "I apologize again. It's just—I walked by the site, it looks horrible. I just assumed she'd come here first."

"I understand," Sally said. She waved Russo away, taking Makoto's arm and offering her a seat. Wufei watched Makoto's every move for any sign of deception. So far she just seemed flustered. "My name is Sally Po. And we're actually in the same mess you are. We can't get in contact with Minako. Would you mind answering a few questions for us?"

"She's missing?" The worry reappeared on her face. She glanced around the room before her eyes fell on Wufei. Her mouth opened in surprise. "Oh, it's you."

Despite the situation, Sally had to turn away to hide her smile. Wufei almost rolled his eyes, nodding at Makoto. Duo caught the slight change of expression on Wufei's face and smirked. This, he thought, was good ammunition for later.

"Miss Kino, you know Agent Chang. This is Agent Maxwell."

"Sup," Duo said, grinning at her. Makoto seemed taken aback, unsure of how someone could be so casual in such a situation. She nodded almost reluctantly before settling her eyes back on Sally.

"What questions do you have?"

"Do you know anywhere Minako would go in an emergency situation?" Sally asked, looking Makoto in the eyes. She didn't get the idea that Makoto was hiding anything—yet. "A safe place, or anywhere she might have mentioned to you?"

This seemed to bother Makoto even more. She shook her head, narrowing her eyes in thought. "No," she eventually said. "Mina would come to me. It's—I'm sure of it."

"You two are that close?" Wufei asked, leaning back on the desk and crossing his arms. Makoto nodded without hesitation.

"Like sisters." She took a breath, playing with one of her rose earrings. "Do you think—something's happened to her?"

"Minako is a skilled agent," Sally said reassuringly. She glanced at Duo, noticing that he turned away, holding a hand at his ear. It had be a transmission for Emergency Squad only if Wufei didn't also get the message. "She's capable of taking care of herself. We're just assuming right now that she's in a position where she's unable to contact us."

"Jeez," Makoto said suddenly, looking embarrassed. "I probably should have just called, huh? I really didn't mean to waste your time."

"No, I understand your concern completely." Sally placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad she has a friend like you."

Makoto swallowed. There, Wufei thought, noticing her glance away. Unlike the times where she had avoided eye contact in thought, this was deliberate. There was something she had hiding.

"Sally, I have to go," Duo said abruptly. He turned to Makoto, smiling charmingly. "Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, pretty lady. We'll sort this mess out, though."

Makoto again looked uncomfortable with the casualness, especially as he winked. She nodded, managing to murmur a, "Thanks." The three remaining occupants of the room watched as Duo quickly left the room.

"Miss Kino, would you like anything to drink? A coffee, water?"

Wufei did not like the look Sally was giving him. He knew that look; he had seen it twice before in his five year career as a Preventer. That look meant babysitting duty—take care of the witness, make them feel comfortable, then try to pick up as many clues as you can. Wufei, however, was not a babysitter. He opened his mouth to tell Sally off when Makoto shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. I'm really sorry, I should have just called, or..." She sighed, fiddling with the hem of her jacket.

"Please, try to relax. Wufei?" Sally turned to him. He glared at her. "Can you show Miss Kino the break room? Treat her to something , will you?"

"No, no, it's okay," Makoto said, shaking her head. "Really, thank you but you don't have to—"

"Come on," Sally said, laughing a little. "How many times have you given him a free coffee? At least let him repay the favor."

That brought an awkward smile to Makoto's face as she scratched her cheek, hoping to hide her blush. She glanced at Wufei again, whose face was quite stony as he wordlessly made his way towards the door. Sally motioned with her arms for Makoto to follow.

"Jeez, Miss Po, I was trying to take it slow," Makoto tried to joke. She bowed her head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sally said as Makoto turned to chase after Wufei.

The door closed again. Sally's smile abruptly fell as she glanced back at the files she had on Minako. Kino Makoto had been a dead lead after all; no conspirator would be bold enough to confront them head on. Still... Sally couldn't fight the feeling Makoto knew something that she wasn't telling them. For a moment, she wondered if it had anything to do with Sailor V. Hopefully Wufei would draw all the answers out.

**x**

Ami had spent the last two years in captivity.

It was startling how easy it was to live through the motions, even if her life was not hers. She was free to go wherever she wanted, meet whomever she liked. There was nothing stopping her from visiting the pool or taking her lunches at her favorite shops. It was almost like she lived like every other woman on Earth.

There was, however, the one exception that every move she made was being watched.

Ami knew better than to fall into routine. She currently sighed, sitting in front of a computer, typing away. Behind her, a group of scientists were test running the new alloy they had claimed to discover. She tried to ignore them, focusing instead on her task at hand. She had very limited time.

The doors to the laboratory opened; Ami quickly flipped to the next screen, pretending to look puzzled at the code on the screen. Footsteps quickly headed her way; she felt a hand on her shoulder before a voice spoke. "How is the progress?"

"I will admit," Ami said as meekly as she could, "it is quite a challenging one."

"Which is why we have you."

Ami didn't feel complimented; instead she nodded her head stiffly. "I'll try not to disappoint, sir."

She watched as the man walked away, approaching the group of scientists. For a moment all she could do was stare. It took all of her will to not stand up and just leave—but she knew the consequences. She had seen first-hand that these men did not bluff, that they carried out their threats ruthlessly.

But still... Ami returned her gaze back to the computer screen, trying not to think about the situation she was in. She tried not to think about how she was underground the city, practically kidnapped every night to this secret hideout. She tried not to think about her home, which she hadn't slept in for two years. She tried not to think about escaping, because if she escaped, they would kill her father.

Ami sighed. No one knew, she thought. Minako was clueless, Makoto was equally in the dark, and Rei might have had a suspicion that something was wrong but she wouldn't pry. And Usagi, bless her dear heart, Usagi was too busy juggling a family to notice anything. And Ami didn't blame any of them—if she wanted them to know, she would have told them how it all happened.

Two years ago, on her way home from class, she had been approached by an upperclassman. He had complimented her on her presentation during class, she had thanked him, and then suddenly he was taking her out to tea and chatting her up about the colonies.

Ami wondered why she hadn't been suspicious. She mentally kicked herself in the head when she passed out, and when she came to, she was underground.

The Hideout, the man in charge called it. Urtuku, he called himself.

He had been very clear in what he wanted. "Here in The Hideout," he said, "we want change. And you, Miss Mizuno, are going to help us."

"I don't understand what I could possibly contribute," Ami said, her eyes trained on the gun in his hand. He only smiled.

"My dear, you are clever. All you need to do is put your mind to use."

Ami only stared as he sat her in front of a computer, pulling up a screen of codes. He explained that he wanted these cracked by the next day. Ami straightened her shoulders. "And if I refuse?"

"Why should you?" Urtuku said, leaning over her. She felt herself grow cold "Do you not enjoy puzzles? I imagine that they entice your mind."

Of course they did. But that didn't mean anything when she was being held at gunpoint.

"Of course, if you do choose refuse," Urtuku continued, "then we will kill your father. Quite an artist, that man. He's friendly, too. Made buddies with my right hand man Halston within minutes of meeting him."

All her life, Ami had constantly told herself that she wanted nothing to do with her father. He had left her when she was a child, sending nothing but a few postcards with no words on them. She didn't despise him, no; she was more apathetic. But in that moment, hearing those words, Ami wanted nothing more than to protect her family.

It was strange, she thought, what life-and-death decisions did to one's opinions.

Ami sighed, looking at the screen in front of her. She had easily cracked the code for this message within minutes of receiving it. They were all Preventers messages, she quickly caught on. Most of them dealt with Relena Peacecraft—no, Darlian. Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian. A few of them had to do with flights; Ami easily traced that to Relena's trips to the colonies. Most of them dealt with security issues—who was watching over Relena at what time and where.

The Hideout was tracking Relena Darlian. And Ami was helping them. But now...

Ami peeked over her shoulder again. Urtuku was completely focused on the scientists. She flipped back to the other screen, quickly typing her own message. Then she swiftly bypassed the security of The Hideout. She rapidly gained access to Tokyo's main broadcasting stations, including ones that traveled to the colonies. Perfect, she thought, and she sent her message across.

She then erased all evidence of what she had just done, flipping back to the coded message. As Urtuku passed back, he glanced at her screen. "Well?"

"This message says that the dove has been compromised," Ami said. "Dove in unapproved possession of Aino. All units on scene. Use force if needed. Update every fifteen minutes."

Urtuku seemed satisfied. He touched her shoulder again, squeezing. "You are beautiful, my dear."

Ami waited until he disappeared out of the room before she brushed off her shoulder, trying not to make an ugly face. She let out the breath she was holding, shaking her head. Quickly, she glanced back at the code, hoping she hadn't misread it. Dove in unapproved possession of Aino—that meant Relena Darlian was missing, and Minako had something to do with it. Ami could only hope that she had correctly predicted what Minako was up to (but how did one go about doing that when Minako was beyond unpredictable?), that her broadcasted message would eventually reach every corner of Earth and the colonies.

She didn't bother hiding where her broadcasted message came from. Preventers would trace it in no time, and they would overrun The Hideout. It was like killing two birds with one stone, Ami thought. She could be freed from this prison, and at the same time, Minako could start the fire that would catapult them to the future.

Ami didn't have to wait long. A half hour later, as she was making notes on another code sent through the system, there was a flash of blinding light. She immediately dropped down to the ground, throwing her arms behind her neck. Ami felt the ground shake, heard the walls of The Hideout crumbling. There were screams everywhere, and in between the screams she heard Urtuku's voice ordering the men around.

Ami opened her eyes, her vision blurred. She blinked rapidly, peeking over her shoulder to see the scientists all crowded around one man. He had a large piece of metal in his chest; the other scientists were arguing with each other over whether or not to remove it.

I have to get out, Ami thought as she slowly rose from her crouch. She sat on her knees in a daze, watching the scientist with the metal inside him writhe around on the floor. The sound of gunshots deafened her; she leaned back, feeling the ground blindly for something—anything—to help her. She was stupid, she thought, incredibly stupid. She had expected Preventers to break into The Hideout—but for some reason she hadn't counted on the bloodshed.

"You _bitch_," Urtuku's voice suddenly growled in her ear. Ami let a cry escape her lips as he roughly grabbed her by the hair and yanked up. She grabbed onto his hands, trying to throw him off; he shoved her onto the desk, slamming her head onto the keyboard. "You did this, didn't you?"

"I—don't," Ami managed to cough out, trying to blink away her blurred vision. She could barely hear Urtuku over the next explosion that rocked the ground.

"You were the only one with access to international broadcasting," Urtuku said. He slammed his pistol into her cheek before pulling her up. Ami could barely stand, her knees buckling. "Don't try to bullshit me, you stupid—"

She was bleeding, her world was spinning, and her body was giving out on her. Urtuku grabbed her by the hair again, yanking her head back and placing his gun right at her exposed neck. He dragged her—straight towards the gunfire, she thought with a panic as the sounds grew louder. He was going to use her as a hostage.

Ami squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drown out all the noise. She had to think—she had to figure out a way to get out. That was what her brain was for, wasn't it? What the hell was she so smart for if she couldn't figure a way out? The barrel pressed harder into her neck; with a gasp, she opened her eyes.

Urtuku stood in the middle of a circle of Preventers. They all had their guns trained on him, but Urtuku's gun was on her. "I will walk out of here," Urtuku was saying. "And you will not follow me."

"Give it up," one of the Preventers said. "You've got nowhere to run."

"You are telling me you'll risk this woman's life in order to capture me?" Ami could hear the smile in his voice. She hated his smile. "How fitting for those who promote pacifism."

Urtuku moved the gun from her throat to her temple. Without have her head pulled back, she could clearly (or, as clearly as she could considering the concussion she most likely had) see the Preventers. They were hesitating, slowly lowering their weapons one by one. The one who had spoken earlier, however, held his resolve.

Ami locked eyes with him. He stared back; she tried to convey to him that she had a plan, that she wanted him to pick it up or else she'd die. Hopefully he would see past the desperation.

"I suggest you lower your gun," Urtuku said. "I won't hesitate to—"

Ami ducked her head and shoved Urtuku back with all her might. Two shots went off, one right by her ear; Ami collapsed to the floor, trying to hear past the ringing. She was deaf, she thought—oh god, she was deaf. She was hardly aware of someone lifting her up, carrying her down the halls of the ruined Hideout. She closed her eyes one second and opened them the next to find herself outside, with a blanket around her and the Preventer from before treating her wounds.

"You read my mind," Ami said dumbly, and the Preventer gave her an almost flirtatious grin.

"I always know what a pretty lady's thinking," he said, humoring her. "Though I have to say, that was a pretty dumb thing you did."

"I didn't want him to kill me," Ami said. She winced as he scrubbed one of her cuts.

"What were you doing in a place like that?" the Preventer murmured. When she didn't answer, he grabbed her chin gently and turned her face so her eyes looked into his. "What's your name?"

"Mizuno Ami," she automatically replied. "Sir, I think I might be in shock."

The Preventer raised his eyebrows, his grin making him look more boyish. "First, it's Agent Maxwell, not 'sir.' Secondly, yeah, you're probably in shock. We're going to take you to the nearest hospital, and they'll do a routine post-traumatic incident procedure on you."

"Oh my god," Ami said, her eyes watering suddenly. She held a hand to her mouth as Agent Maxwell grimaced.

"Hey, hey, I know it was rough, it's a lot to take in, but please don't cry—"

"I had—Agent Maxwell, I had my study guides down there!" Ami burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. He _stared_. "All of my study guides for the upcoming exams—now they're all gone—I can't possibly recreate them in such a short notice—"

Agent Maxwell patted her shoulder awkwardly, all the while looking around for someone to relieve him from the crazy lady.

**x**

Rei had tried very hard not to strangle Minako, but the desire to do so was growing with every moment. She looked up to the ceiling in exasperation as her friend continued to ramble on quickly. In the next room, Relena sat sipping at her tea. Poor girl, Rei thought. If only she knew what a big idiot her bodyguard was.

"Really, Rei, this is _brilliant_," Minako continued to say in a hushed voice. "How else are we going to get the Ginzuishou back?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about a method that doesn't involve kidnapping the former queen of the world for ransom?" Rei said through gritted teeth as she slapped the final bandage of Minako's back. "Why are you wearing clothes like this? It's _winter_—"

"Winter can't stop my beauty," Minako sniped. "And you know this is the only way."

"Minako, this organization probably doesn't care about Relena—"

"Oh bullshit," Minako said, waving that concern away. "Why else would they choose to hide under her? No one would dare to try anything against her—"

"Funny," Rei cut in, "I seem to know a blonde idiot who just kidnapped her."

Minako rolled her eyes. "I've got it all planned out. We'll take her to space, I've got a friend on the colonies—"

"A friend?"

"Find, boyfriend, minor detail," Minako corrected. "Anyway we'll take her there, demand they give us the Ginzuishou, and when we get it back we'll return Relena to safety. Then we lay low for awhile—"

"And how are we going to get Relena up into space, drug her?"

"Well," Minako said. Catching the sight on Rei's face, she grimaced. "Fine, never mind. I don't know, I'll make something up about Preventers, she trusts me."

"I'm not going through with this." Rei stood up, making her way towards the door. Minako hastily scrambled after her, pulling her back by the arm. "And she _doesn't_ trust you."

"Rei, come on, please? Please please?"

"Minako, get off me—"

"If you turn me in, I'll be in big trouble."

"If I don't turn you in, we'll be wanted terrorists," Rei hissed. She threw open the door to the room Relena sat in, ready to apologize, but the words froze in her throat. She, like the suddenly-pale Relena, stared at the words on the television; her mouth went dry. "Minako, what did you..."

"What? What did I what?" Minako asked. She stood on her tiptoes, looking past Rei's shoulder. At once her mouth fell open. "Oh my..."

"Miss Andrews," Relena said stiffly, finally tearing her eyes away from the screen. She stood up, leveling her gaze at Minako. In her hands was a mobile phone, a number already displayed on the screen. "You have ten seconds to explain what this means or I will call Lady Une."

"I didn't do that," Minako said automatically, used to placing the blame on others. In this case, though, she really was innocent. She shoved past Rei, dropping to her knees once she was close enough to the television. She leaned in, her nose almost touching the screen as she read the words. "Give us what we want and you may have your Queen back..."

"Miss Andrews, I'm not a fool," Relena said, watching Minako. Rei still stood by the door, her own eyes fixated on the message. "I know you brought me here when you shouldn't have."

"Then why'd you come?" Minako asked distractedly, leaning back. She finally turned away from the screen, blinking at Relena.

"You saved me from that explosion."

"You know, I could have planned it," Minako pointed out. Relena's eyes widened momentarily.

"That's right. You could have."

"Lucky for you, I didn't." Minako grinned, patting the seat next to her. "You should sit, Miss Darlian. I've got a story to tell you."

"I'd rather stand," Relena said politely. She had put her mobile phone done, but her gaze on Minako was still cautious.

"If you want." Minako took a deep breath, scrunching her eyes shut and hoping with all her hopes that Rei wouldn't cross the room and kill her. "I'm Sailor Venus."

To her relief, Rei didn't even blink. Relena, however, narrowed her eyes. "What? What does that mean?"

"What do you mean, what does that mean?" Minako looked offended. "Sailor Venus, Goddess of Love, soldier of light and beauty?"

Whatever reaction she had been expecting, the one she got was most certainly not it. Again, Minako thought that Relena, despite her mild appearance, was stronger than the world thought. Relena smiled thinly, raising her eyebrows. "I had thought you were going to be serious, Miss Andrews. Don't play around with me. I might be young, but I—"

"It's true," Minako said, finger in the air. Rei watched her every movement. There was something in her gaze, she thought, that was not like the Minako she knew. Then again, the Minako she knew was from another life. She herself was probably not the Rei that Minako knew...

"How does that make any sense at all?" Relena asked, looking skeptical. Despite the dangerous situation she was in, she was curious. Out of all the things to say, Minako had come up with a figure of history. Was that to throw her off?

"Reincarnation," Minako said. She looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Let's see, the era of Crystal Tokyo was about two hundred years ago... You know about how it abruptly ended when the Neo-Queen Serenity gave up her life to sustain the first colony, right? Shortly after that, each of the sailor senshi ended up dying as well."

"I'm not here for a history lesson," Relena said.

"Sorry." Minako sheepishly grinned. "I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it too. Anyway, I was the fourth one to go. After I died back then, my soul was reborn in this era. I don't have any powers this time, none of us do. The other sailor senshi and I have wondered about that, then we realized it's because Neo-Queen Serenity—she was reborn, too, you know—anyway, Serenity doesn't have the Ginzuishou with her this time around."

Relena couldn't help it. She stared at Minako, listening to her every word, not believing a single one but slowly wondering—what if she were telling the truth? It was impossible, she knew, but the idea that someone could forge such a story...

"There is this organization, Miss Darlian, that is using the Sanc Kingdom's good name to hide behind. They are using you for cover." Minako's gaze turned serious as she looked up at the former queen of the world. "I don't know what they were called, but tonight they tried to kill you. Your bodyguard, Yorkton, was one of them."

"Why are you telling me this?" Relena frowned. "Why not inform Lady Une—"

"Because that organization has the Ginzuishou," Minako interrupted. "And I need you to get it back."

Silence. Relena glanced away, her eyes troubled. Her hands were clenched into fists as she bowed her head. "I don't believe you."

"You probably want proof."

Both Minako and Relena turned to look at Rei in astonishment. Relena had forgotten that she was there, and Minako was utterly shocked that her friend was not trying to throttle her. Rei stepped closer into the room, holding a hand out in front of her chest. At first Relena flinched at the bright light that flashed through the room; when the light died away, she saw that a crystal was coming out of Rei's chest. It paused to hover over her hand.

"What in the world..." Relena shook her head. This couldn't be real. None of it made any sense to her. Reincarnated celestial soldiers, floating crystals popping out of chests—she couldn't believe any of it.

"I was known as Sailor Mars," Rei said. "This is my sailor crystal."

"The sailor crystals," Relena said softly, shaking her head. She could vaguely remember her history lessons on the kingdom of Crystal Tokyo. "They were the source of power for the sailor senshi."

"Were," Rei emphasized. "They're little more than pretty artifacts now." With a flick of her hand, she let the crystal fly across the room. It floated to Relena; she caught it abruptly before letting go. The crystal floated on its side.

"It burns!" Relena exclaimed, waving her hand to cool it off. Rei shrugged.

"Like I said, Mars." She glanced at Minako, who was still staring at her dumbly. "Miss Peacecraft, I'm sure Minako here didn't mean to harm you in any way."

"Nope, sure didn't!" Minako piped up, snapping out of her stupor. She scrambled up, approaching Relena and taking Rei's sailor crystal gently. "Here, if you just put your palm under it, it'll float—that way you don't have to touch it—"

She guided the crystal onto Relena's palm. The light played off her face, making her blue eyes seem wider and more childish than they usually were. Minako paused, studying Relena's expression. It was of wonder and excitement. She had never seen the Vice Foreign Minister display any of these features before.

"It's beautiful," Relena finally said. "But you have to understand, I still can't just..."

"Miss Darlian, please," Minako said, taking the crystal back. She passed it to Rei, who wordlessly wrapped her fingers around it. The crystal disappeared in another flash of light. "I know this is something I should've asked before doing, but will you help us?"

"No," Relena said automatically. She put a hand to her chest. "I'm not important. My life isn't worth more than the next person."

"Only _you_ believe that!" Minako protested. "To Yorkton and that organization, you're everything!"

"And I shouldn't be," Relena said calmly. She looked Minako in the eyes. "I'm only human. I don't want to be anything else."

"Then I'm going to take you by force," Minako said stubbornly, leaning forward. "I don't care what happens to me, but the Ginzuishou means everything. If I have to kidnap you, drug you, whatever, I'll do it."

Relena's gaze was even as the two stared at each other. Off to the side, Rei fought a sigh—especially when Relena closed her eyes and nodded. "Alright. I'll help you."

"Really?" Minako's eyes lit up as she threw her arms around Relena's neck. "You are the _best_, Relena! I love you!"

Relena was very unsure of how to handle Minako's arms and hair flailing about. She patted the bodyguard's back awkwardly before pulling away. "But know that we will do this my way. If we explain the situation to Lady Une, then we can thoroughly investigate this organization—"

"No," Minako said, looking aghast. "No no no, we can't tell anyone—"

Relena furrowed her brow. "Why not?"

"This message," Minako said, motioning to the screen, "was probably from Sailor Mercury. She's the only person I can think of, and—and if we pretend that nothing happened, that you weren't kidnapped, then the organization will know something's up."

"This organization doesn't know it's you," Relena pointed out. "Anyone could have taken advantage of the situation and broadcasted that message."

"Miss Darlian," Minako said, pleading with her eyes. "Please. Just come with me to space, and we can decide everything there. I don't feel safe here with you so out in the open."

Relena closed her eyes. Against her better judgment, she found herself nodding. Minako grabbed her in another hug; this time she braced herself, ready for the impact. Her mind, however, was berating her for agreeing to such a deal.

"So here's the plan," Minako said, taking Relena by the hand. "We're heading to X-18774, in L3. Once we get there, we can settle down and talk things over."

"And we'll inform Lady Une," Relena said.

"Sally Po," Minako hastily corrected. "We'll tell Sally."

Relena looked confused, but she nodded to the compromise. "Alright."

"Don't worry," Minako said with a wink as she led Relena out of the room. "I'll keep you safe. It's my job. And by the way—it's Aino, not Andrews."

Rei watched the two blondes, wondering why she herself hadn't just called Preventers to clear the situation up. Obviously Relena was not thinking right (which was a surprise; Rei found her sane, if overly not idealistic) and Minako was too wrapped around her plans that nothing could convince her otherwise. So what was stopping her?

It was the thought Ami had to have sacrificed something to do something like transmit that message. Rei was not an idiot; she knew that Ami was hiding something. Of course she didn't pry; she respected her friend's privacy, and if it were something she couldn't handle, Ami would have told them. But the coincidence, she thought, that Ami would understand the situation Minako was in...

Rei sighed, making her way to her room to change out of her robes. When she came out, Minako was offering Relena a hat, saying something about disguises and being inconspicuous. "Come on," she said, interrupting them. "If we're going to catch that flight, we better go now."

"Of course," Relena said with a soft smile, and Minako had to pause for a moment and remind herself again that Relena was not Usagi, and in this time, this place, this world—the Sailor Senshi were only human.

* * *

**an **argh i might be too invested in this fic now. i also have always had a hard time writing mako and i hope it doesn't show. ;;

angelic. aquarian: haha well! while i don't want to give away too much on pairings, i can guarantee that duoxminako won't be a serious thing. ;x i do agree, the two of them in a relationship would be disastrous, but at the same time i could totally see them being ultimate bros for life. thank you for reading!

Pink Rabbit: thank you for reading! this was a plot bunny that suddenly spurred to me out of the blue haha. hopefully i won't disappoint with the way this chapter turned out. :)

JPandS: oh i agree on the minako thing! she's an absolute toughie for me to write just because she's insane on so many levels. as for wufei, i've only recently come to adore him. i have this headcanon that he's a closet adrenaline junkie (what with the flame throwers and motorcycles and whatnot). anyway i'm glad i could somewhat entertain. thank you for reading! oh, and also ;x i might be needing an update of roots sometime soon haha!

thank you for reading everyone! xo


	3. Chapter 3

**three**

Heero sat in the back of the shuttle, not taking his eyes off of the three women who were seated near the front. The blonde one was yapping away about this and that, clueless to the fact that he had been watching them for the past fifteen minutes. The other woman was trying very hard to ignore her, although she broke her resolve a few times to reprimand the blonde.

And Relena sat in between them, trying not to laugh or smile at any of their antics.

It was easy enough to follow them on board unnoticed. They didn't know they were being followed. When he first spotted them at the space sport, he had intended on taking Relena back by force. By when he saw that she was going with them willingly, he had to reconsider.

There was no way Relena would put the world in a state of frenzy by pretending to be missing. At the same time, if she were honestly being kidnapped, she wouldn't have looked so relaxed. He didn't understand quite what was going on, or why.

So Heero boarded the shuttle, took a seat in the back, and watched them.

When they landed on colony X-18774 two hours later, he made it a point to be the first one to get off. Once he stepped foot in the space port, he quickly made his way to the side. Minutes later, the group of three filed off. Heero kept his distance, but he made sure he was within hearing-range.

"Land!" the blonde said cheerily. She hooked her arm through Relena's grinning. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine, Miss Aino—"

"Minako, please." The blonde winked. "Anyway, Miss _Tsukino_, if you're sure you're not hungry, then we can head towards our safe spot."

"I got a hotel," the other woman said abruptly. She ignored Minako's sputtering as she looked at Relena. "I hope you don't mind."

"Thank you," Relena said, shying away from her. It was as if she weren't as comfortable with her as she was with Minako. Which, Heero thought, was stupid, seeing as she shouldn't have been comfortable with Minako in the first place.

"Rei—that is a violation of our plans," Minako hissed. Rei continued to ignore her, walking ahead of the two. "Jeez, that girl has a mind of her own!"

"I think it's for the better," Relena said peacefully. "That way, we won't have to worry about privacy."

"I guess," Minako said. She sighed, pulling Relena forward. "Let's hurry up before we lose her."

Heero adjusted the cap on his head, placing his hands in his pockets. He let the group split from him, choosing to stay behind. After the crowd filtered between them, he moved. They had no luggage with them. That, coupled with the fact that they got a hotel, meant they weren't planning to stay long.

He followed them into the city, keeping his head down but his eyes sharp. The blonde was pointing at the skyscrapers and the big screens, turning Relena's concentration this and that way. Their quieter companion stayed discrete, paying closer attention to the path they were taking.

Then they stopped. Heero's eyes narrowed as Relena glanced from one companion to the next. "What's going on?" he watched her ask.

"Nothing," Minako's lips said easily. She grabbed Relena's hand, dragging her away and pointing at another sign. Rei followed, but he could see that she was now looking through the crowd.

Heero was sure he hadn't been caught. He glanced around quickly to try to find the source of their sudden change in attitude. So far he had concluded that they were running away. According to the message Sally had sent to Informations earlier, the bodyguard Yorkton was not to be trusted. He had assumed that Aino also could not be trusted; from the way Relena didn't seem to be bothered, he thought that Aino somehow managed to convince her that she was safe.

Suddenly Minako and Relena were running through the crowd, pushing civilians out of the way. Heero narrowed his eyes; in the two seconds he had looked away, Rei had disappeared. He had two choices to make—find out where the other girl went, or stick to Relena. He didn't even have to think; Heero took off, following in their exact footsteps. Live by his emotions, right?

They ended up at the Sheraton Hotel. Minako quickly pulled Relena in. Heero followed right after, but before either of them could spot him he headed through the lobby and towards the stairs. He lingered a moment, watching them get their key.

Until five minutes ago, he had thought the whole situation was an attempted kidnapping by a novice. Seeing the way Aino moved now—efficiently, using the least steps possible, and also at the same time making sure Relena was covered at every angle—Heero realized he had underestimated the situation.

Minako and Relena boarded the elevator. Heero waited until the number five lit up above the elevators. Then he opened the door and took the stairs three at the time. He emerged on the other side of the fifth floor just to see Minako disappear into the room on his right.

He blocked the door from closing with his foot, using his elbow to shove it open. With his free hand, he pointed his gun at Minako, slamming the door shut behind him with his other foot. He hadn't expected, however, for Minako to be standing in front of Relena with her arms splayed out.

"Who the hell are you?" Minako growled, staring down the barrel. Behind her, Relena's eyes widened.

"Heero!"

"What?" It was almost startling, Heero thought, to see her strong expression suddenly turn into skepticism. "Heero—as in, Heero Yuy?"

Relena straightened up, bringing down Minako's arms. She had a smile on her face, one Heero didn't reciprocate. "Heero, it's alright—"

"Relena, step back."

"She's my bodyguard—"

"Step back," Heero repeated, not taking his eyes off of Minako. Her own blue eyes, so startling clear, stared back. She was unabashed, even tilting her head back. He had seen obstinate people before—had seen them take their pride with them into death. But it wasn't pride that she had... It was dedication. To Relena? "Who are you?"

"Didn't you hear her?" Minako said, and although her voice was light, he could see her jaw clench. "I'm her bodyguard."

"Heero, please," Relena said softly. "I came here out of my own free will."

"Why?" Heero asked, finally looking over to Relena. "All of Preventers is looking for you."

What he didn't say (_you should know better than that_), she picked up on. Relena glanced away, shaking her head. "It's not my story to tell."

That brought Heero's cold gaze back to Minako, who hadn't let down her guard at all. In fact, he noticed that she was still in the position to take any blow for Relena. He would have found her to be a remarkable bodyguard if she also didn't happened to be a kidnapper.

"Mr. Yuy," Minako said, even going so far as to smile sardonically at him. "Please, put your gun down."

Instead, Heero shot his hand forward, smacking the gun into the base of her skull. She crumpled into his arms, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. Relena drew in a sharp breath of air. "Heero!"

"Don't be foolish," Heero said quietly, adjusting his hold on Minako's unconscious body. He frowned; in the split second he had acted, she had done the same. She was too slow, but he saw her body move to the side, as if she had known what he was going to do and tried to evade it. "We're going back to Earth."

"There's no convincing you otherwise," Relena said. Heero met her eyes briefly.

"Not when it concerns your safety, no," he said, and he hoisted Minako's body onto his shoulder. Relena sighed.

"I was fine."

"I was following orders," Heero said. He glanced at Relena again. "Sally's orders, to use force if necessary."

"It wasn't necessary!"

Heero said nothing to that, instead opening the door with his free hand. He started down the hall, ignoring the look the civilian a few doors down was giving him. He knew Relena was following him, judging from the sound of the door closing and footsteps hurrying after him.

"Heero," she said after a moment, "won't you look suspicious?"

Heero chose not to answer that as well. He hadn't really thought about how he was going to get back to the space port without people staring at him. He did, however, have with passport with him. If anyone had questions, he could just show them his Preventers badge. That usually solved most problems.

He ignored the stares as best as he could, but Relena was having a harder time doing so. She kept her head down, adjusting the hat she wore. He glanced back, watching her place her hands in her pockets. He still had no idea what she had been thinking, why she had gone along with her kidnapper, let alone defend her. Relena was not a fool, he knew, but she was idealistic. Maybe, he thought, Aino had made her an offer...

Heero shifted Minako as they reached the front of the space port. He paused, hearing a tiny beeping. At first he thought it was coming from a passer-by, until he realized the sound came from Minako's watch. He swiftly removed the watch, studying it for a moment as it continued to beep.

"Heero?"

Heero tossed the watch to Relena, who caught it with a look of surprise. She, too, examined the top before shaking her head. "Answer it," he said.

Relena popped open the top of the watch.

"Minako, get Relena out of there, it's a _trap_!"

**x**

Makoto stared at the cup of coffee, wrapping her hands around it. It only offered a small amount of warmth. She sighed, the sound not going unnoticed by Wufei.

"It's cold?" Wufei asked. Makoto immediately glanced up, shaking her head.

"No no, it's still a little hot." As if to prove her point, she took a sip. Immediately she fought against making a face; judging by the way Wufei's eyebrow lifted, it was obvious she was not successful in keep her expression straight. She grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, it's cold."

Wordlessly, Wufei went to pour her another cup. She watched him, feeling oddly timid. It wasn't the man, so to speak, or the way he very reluctantly held conversation with her. It was the building, the status of the building, and the situation she was caught up in.

She had no idea what Minako was doing. Before heading to Preventers headquarters, she had tried contacting the other senshi. None of them picked up, leaving her to worry endlessly about Minako. And now to hear that she was missing...

It was wrong of her to think, but Makoto hoped that it was just bodyguard duty. She hoped that Minako was missing and out of contact because she was indeed compromised, and not because of senshi business. The thought mulled around in her mind, settling awkwardly in her stomach. If Minako had decided to act against this organization without telling anyone—

Wufei set the new mug in front of her, taking the old one away. "Thanks," she mumbled, reaching across the table to grab some cream. It was later than she thought, but she knew she wouldn't get any sleep as long as Minako was still missing.

"You said you were close with Aino?"

Makoto blinked, nodding her head slowly. Wufei was watching her with his careful gaze. She had noticed that about him—he had a careful gaze, as if he didn't know how to live without certainty. It was something that intrigued her, especially when he went against every impression she had of him every time he opened his mouth.

He never spoke much, mostly only to order and thank her. Sometimes when she commented on the weather, he reciprocated. Rarely did he ever smile. Makoto remembered one time she had yelled at the newest employee for burning a rack of bread; she had been utterly vicious, telling him he was a waste of time, that it wasn't some cooking class his mother signed him up for, it was a business and he was an extra unneeded resource—and when she turned around to angrily take Wufei's order, he was smirking.

"Newbies," Makoto had said, shaking her head, already moving to grab him the muffin he had yet to order.

"I understand completely," Wufei had replied, bills already in his hand. "Though I would have expected him to know better than to mess up your directions."

Makoto had pretended to search for the muffin, although in reality she was hiding her blush. He hadn't meant that as a way to flirt with her, of course not, he was _Wufei_, but she couldn't deny the fact that he was tall, dark and very handsome.

And now, sitting in front of him in the Preventers break room, he seemed beyond unreachable. It was as if he didn't quite know what to do with himself. To be fair, she had no idea what to do with herself either.

"Um," Makoto said, clearing her throat. "We went to high school together."

"I see," Wufei said. She was pretty sure he forced himself to respond.

"I'm not surprised she got a job like this," Makoto said, shrugging. In awkward situations, she found that talking helped ease her nerves. Hopefully she wouldn't babble, and hopefully he wouldn't mind. "She was pretty athletic. Captain of the volleyball team. You've probably heard her brag about it?"

"I haven't had the chance to work with her," Wufei admitted. Makoto rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to work with her to hear her. Pretty sure that loud mouth of hers can go through sound-proof walls." She saw the corner of his mouth twitch. At least he wasn't thinking she was annoying. "You think she's okay?"

"Sally thinks highly of her."

It was a simple statement, but Makoto found several things wrong with it. First, it didn't completely answer the question. Second, it almost implied that Wufei didn't think much of Minako. She tried not to frown, taking another sip of her coffee. She felt it run through her body, warming her insides.

"Wherever she is," Makoto said slowly, meeting his piercing gaze with a slight smile, "I know she'll keep Relena safe."

And then Wufei drew back. Whatever comfort they had lulled into disappeared as he turned away to pour himself another cup of coffee. Makoto watched his back, allowing the frown to appear on her face. Obviously she had said something to upset him. Was Relena a sore subject?

"In my experience," Wufei said suddenly, jarring her out of her thoughts, "a man should be protecting a woman."

Makoto stared. "In your experience," she repeated. Before she allowed herself to be offended, she tried to gauge his expression. It was relatively calm, unlike the condescending smirks she sometimes got from customers who thought she was "cute with her apron in her kitchen." So he wasn't trying to be chauvinistic. He was just... being Wufei.

"It is what a man should do." Wufei raised his cup to his lips. He seemed to be looking at her own expression for a reaction. "If a man can't protect a woman or the weak, then he has no business being alive."

Makoto was one hundred percent glad that Rei was nowhere in the room. Maybe five years ago she herself would have been offended at the words—but that was five years ago. Since then, she had lived, lost, forgiven and forgotten. It was almost like her life now was like a feather, blowing about carelessly. And even though she knew what she wanted and how she wanted it, she had learned that what she wanted was not necessarily what she was going to get—and that other people's lives worked that same way.

So maybe Wufei had been a feather once, and something happened, and the wind knocked him down. She honestly couldn't fault him for that.

"I guess," Makoto eventually said, with another careless shrug. "But, you know, some women can take care of themselves."

Wufei said nothing to that. He merely placed his cup on the table, looking out the window. Every part of him signified that he was done with the conversation. Makoto, however, couldn't help herself.

"Let me rephrase that. Some women _have_ to take care of themselves."

If he was at all curious, he didn't show it.

Makoto inwardly sighed, playing with her cup. She cast a glance outside at the window, wondering how much longer she was going to stay there. Go home, her mind told her. Go home, go to sleep, and when you wake up everything will be okay.

Except that was not how Makoto lived. She might have been a feather, but she could still fight the wind. "There's a reason I'm here, isn't there?"

Wufei glanced at her, his expression unreadable. If Makoto hadn't known any better—if it had been morning, and he was in line at the bakery—she might have attributed that expression to an internal debate between donut or muffin.

"Your close friend is missing," Wufei said. "As is the Vice Foreign Minister."

Then he was quiet again. Makoto blinked a few times, wondering at his tone of voice. It wasn't accusatory—more inquisitive than anything, as if he hinted at Makoto knowing something. Which, of course, she didn't. She scratched her cheek, looking down at her coffee. She could feel Wufei still watching her.

It was as if they suspected Minako of kidnapping Relena or something.

"Oh my god," Makoto said, her head shooting up as she matched Wufei's gaze. Her mouth fell open. "You think—you think Minako had something to do with all this?"

"She has no reason to not contact us," Wufei said calmly. His eyes never left hers. "You and Sally both believe she is perfectly able to take care of herself. If that is the case, then she should have no problem in finding a way to let us know that both she and Relena Darlian are safe and well."

Makoto's mouth continued to open and close in shock. Finally she said, "So what, I'm ransom?"

When he didn't answer, she stood up, He continued to lean against the counter, his arms crossed, watching her every move. Makoto shook her head, pushing her chair back and stepping back from the table.

"Thanks for the coffee," she said, putting in every ounce of sarcasm she had (which, she had learned, was surprisingly not very much, considering the amount of time she spent around Rei and Minako). She shook her head again, making her way towards the door. "I never should have come here."

Makoto yanked open the door to find Agent Maxwell grinning at her. Makoto never wanted to slap a smile off a face as much as she did right then. "Yo, sorry, but you can't leave."

"I have rights," Makoto said, her patience wearing thin. So much for all those yoga classes, she thought. "And my rights clearly say I _can_ leave, so move out of the way."

He just shrugged unapologetically. "Actually, once you stepped foot into the building, you were in Preventers custody. We need to keep you detained, Miss Kino, so take a seat and keep drinking your coffee."

Makoto did not like at all the way he was speaking to her, as if she were a child that needed watching over. She also didn't like that her concern for her close friend had been used as leverage for these men to trick her. So despite the fact that she knew better, Makoto drew back her arm—but before she could punch him in the gut, she felt someone grab her fist.

"Don't do that," Wufei said, and she could clearly hear the annoyance in his voice. "That's assaulting a Preventers—"

Makoto whirled around, slapping him with her free hand. He stared at her, unaffected by the sting, his eyes narrowing slightly. Behind them, Duo gaped—especially when Makoto wrestled her arm out of Wufei's grasp and shoved him back. Wufei immediately sprang back forward, taking her arm and twisting it behind her. She smashed her foot down onto his, but he wrapped his free arm around her and lifted her in the air.

Makoto gritted her teeth and used the momentum to flip them both on their sides and to the ground; she wriggled out of his grip, scrambling to her feet. She could see the surprise in his expression as he, too, got up, but she didn't let her thoughts linger on that. Instead she made for the door—Duo, however, somehow snuck up behind her and pinned her to him.

Makoto made to elbow him—but then she found her reflexes oddly slow. Her vision blurred and the world was swimming in front of her. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, but it only made things fuzzier. And the last thing she thought before she slumped unconsciously into Duo's arms was that she was going to absolutely kill Minako.

"Well," Duo said, shifting her in his arms as he glanced at Wufei, "I would've put my money on her kicking your ass."

"She isn't a stranger to self defense," Wufei said, unaffected by Duo's jab. He glared at the unconscious young woman. He had been caught off guard; every movement Makoto had made before had given no clues that she was trained in any type of fighting. And yet the way she carried herself just then was more than anger; it was the way a skilled fighter moved. "I take it you found a clue in that raid?"

"More than a clue," Duo said, meeting Wufei's gaze after he had slipped handcuffs on Makoto's wrists. The humor in his voice was gone, replaced with a slight exasperation. "We found Urtuku."

"Hmph." Wufei watched as Duo dragged Makoto out of the room and across the hall. He followed, only to open the door to one of their detainment rooms. Duo placed Makoto onto the futon before he sighed.

"Mizuno Ami's right next door," he said as they closed the door and locked it. Only someone with a Preventers keycard could open it. "One of the girls from those photos at Aino's apartment. Urtuku was using her as a hostage."

"You don't believe she's innocent."

"Hell no," Duo said with a frown. "This is too big of a coincidence."

"And she came willingly?"

"No way," Duo said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I did what you did—drugged her coffee. Kinda felt bad, she seemed nice."

"Hmph," Wufei repeated, not bothering to reply. The two of them stood in the hallway, looking at the doors of the two detainment rooms. Aino Minako, Kino Makoto and Mizuno Ami, three young women who had no reason to be kidnapping Vice Foreign Ministers. What was their motive? What were they after?

"One of those times I kinda wish Quatre was here," Duo commented, suddenly grinning. Wufei rolled his eyes.

"You should learn to solve your own problems, Maxwell."

"Aw, come on, _Chang_," Duo said, throwing his arm around Wufei's shoulders. "You know you're thinking the exact same thing."

It was a miracle that Wufei didn't flip Duo over his shoulder and stomp on his face. Instead, he threw him a harmless glare. "You're right, I was thinking of how beneficial it would be if Winner were here instead of you."

Duo's grin fell into a pout. "I bet you get all the ladies with that attitude of yours."

Wufei didn't have to answer. He had found throughout the years that Duo didn't need social cues in order to carry a conversation. He wondered, not for the first time, how the former pilot of Deathscythe was in his life so frequently. Not only were they in different departments, they were stationed at different branches. Working with Sally, Wufei traveled the world constantly. Duo, he knew, was technically a part of the main Emergency Squad at headquarters in Brussels.

So really, the chances of them meeting up so often should have been fairly low. Somehow, though, Duo was in every other city. Wufei had asked Sally once. When she answered that she had no idea, he had the faint impression that she was pretending to be clueless.

"We should get a drink after this," Duo said after a moment of silence. The two of them were watching the doors again. Wufei inclined his head.

"You buy," he replied, to which Duo smirked.

"Don't I always?"

**x**

The second Minako led Relena away, Rei darted into the crowd. She found the guy easily; he was the only one standing still in a sea of people. Without hesitating, she jabbed her hand forward, catching him under the chin. The man fell back, looking bewildered and pulling out a gun.

Rei didn't give him a chance to react as she dropped to the ground, swinging out her leg and sweeping him off his feet. She heard the crack his skull made against the ground; just to make sure, she slammed her fist down onto his chest. He sputtered for air, reaching out reflexively before his body fell back down.

She leaned over him, one hand wrapped around his throat. "Who are you and why are you following us?"

The man's eyes opened blearily. He was looking past her, over her shoulder; Rei's eyes widened before she threw herself off to the side. Her arm moved up just quick enough to block the punch headed her way. With a bit of effort, she pushed the new man assaulting her.

Springing up, she ducked under more swinging arms. Unlike Makoto, who was a natural born fighter, Rei had to learn how to defend herself. Makoto packed the punches with great force, but Rei struck at her enemies with speed. She narrowly avoided a knife headed towards her stomach and caught the man by the arm, throwing him aside. For the first time, she caught sight of her attackers.

Three men, all flicking knives around. She narrowed her eyes, noting that the crowd had ignored them completely. Was this kind of violence common? "What do you want?"

The ring-leader—Eyebrows, Rei mentally called him, he had ridiculous eyebrows—smirked. "Don't act like you don't know."

So they _had_ been watched. Rei swallowed, again thinking that taking Relena to space had been the stupidest thing she had ever done. Of _course_ the organization had men in the colonies. Why did they think that they would be safe up there? For the first time since being reborn, she wished she had her powers.

She would just have to make do with what she had.

Eyebrows stepped forward; Rei launched herself at him, her eyes fixed on that knife. She slammed her shoulder into his chest, bringing him down; as they landed, she grabbed the knife, twisting it out of his hands. She brought the knife to his neck, glaring up at the other two men. "Move and he dies."

Eyebrows's hands had frozen mid-air. Rei looked into his frightened eyes and smiled.

"You shouldn't mess with fire."

Then she flung the knife to the side, scrambling off Eyebrows and disappearing into the crowd. She could hear Eyebrows yelling at the other two, but she pushed them far into the back of her mind. You shouldn't mess with fire, really? Minako was starting to have an effect on her.

Digging into her purse, Rei pulled out her communicator. She never thought she would have to use it in this life (she was even against reconstructing them, but Ami had done it without asking anyway), but now was a good time as any to realize that she had been living a foolish, foolish life.

There was no way they could bury their Senshi pasts.

Rei flipped open the communicator, glancing over her shoulder. No one was following her—yet. It was a moment before Minako picked up. "Minako, get Relena out of there, it's a _trap_!"

The screen was fuzzy. Then it cleared up and Relena's face stared at her. "Miss Rei—"

"Where's Minako?"

"She's—" Relena glanced off to the side. "She can't talk."

What the hell, Rei thought. "Never mind that, get to the space port—"

"What's going on?"

Rei fought the urge to roll her eyes. Instead she shoved past a couple, running as fast as her legs could take her. "Get to the space port," she repeated through breaths. "Gate 5A. We're going back to Earth. I'll meet you there—"

"I'm already at the space port," Relena said. She glanced off to the side again. Rei's breath caught in her throat. Had Relena betrayed them after all? Then Relena nodded. "I'll meet you at 5A. How long will you be?"

"Five minutes," Rei said, and she snapped her communicator shut. She threw a glance over her shoulder again, still seeing no sign of those men. Maybe she had lost them, maybe she hadn't. She couldn't risk it. In five minutes, she was in front of the space port.

Rei burst through the doors, quickly making her way through the gates. She handed a worker her passport; the worker lazily scanned it over before his expression became interested. He glanced at her (no doubt checking her out, that pig, she thought) before he handed the passport back. "Have a safe flight, ma'am."

She didn't respond as she snapped the passport shut, shoving it in her bag. Her feet quickly took her to 5A, where Relena stood, looking ridiculously nervous in her oversized hat. Rei nodded at the worker manning the gate as she approached. "When are you taking off?"

"Er," the man said, glancing at Relena. "This is a private shuttle, ma'am."

"Where's Minako?" Rei asked, staring Relena down. There was something not quite right about the situation. For one, even though Relena knew of their pasts, there would be no reason for Minako to let her answer her communicator.

"She's on board," Relena said. Rei narrowed her eyes but said nothing as she pulled out her passport. She handed it to the worker, her eyes still fixed on Relena, even as he handed the passport back with profuse apologies.

"Have a safe flight, ma'am, and again I apologize for the mix-up," the worker said, wondering at the tension between the two.

Rei wordlessly made her way through the gate. Unlike Minako, who had practically glued Relena to her, she didn't feel the need to baby the Vice Foreign Minister. Being polite had nothing to do with being nice. She heard Relena's footsteps quickly catch up to her.

"Miss Rei," Relena said hesitantly. "There's something you should know."

Rei waited for her to continue. When she didn't, she sighed. "What is it?"

Of course, Relena didn't have to answer. When she opened the door to the shuttle, she found an unconscious Minako reclined in a seat. She was very much prepared to grab Relena and run, but two things happened. One, the worker escorting them into the shuttle took her arm and led her in. And two, her hands were suddenly behind her back, handcuffed.

"That's not necessary!" Relena said before Rei could turn around and kick the worker in the face with her heels. She whirled around anyway, trying to pull her wrists through her constraints. The worker watched her for a moment. Then he took off his hat and cast it aside.

"Sit down," he said. "It'll be a long flight."

"Hee—"

"You too, Relena."

What the _hell_, Rei thought again. "Who are you?"

"We'll reach Earth in five hours. Once we land, you'll be in Preventers custody."

Preventers, was it? So that meant they suspected Minako after all. She was right, she thought. This had been the stupidest thing they had ever done. Already Rei was running through her mind all the possible ways she could get her and Minako out of the situation. Attempted kidnapping was not something she wanted to add to her clean record.

"Miss Rei—"

Rei fought very hard against the urge to snap at Relena. Instead she stalked purposely to a seat, throwing herself down and staring in front of her, her lips drawn into a thin line. She heard Relena sigh.

"I didn't know he would come."

Rei, however, was very used to giving others the silent treatment. Her grandfather would attest to that.

"He's from Preventers," Relena continued to say softly, as if Rei needed clarification.

The shuttle took off. Relena was looking over at the man, but he wouldn't make eye contact with her. She sighed yet again, rummaging through her purse before she pulled out Minako's communicator. "I think you should hold onto this."

Rei stared at the communicator wordlessly. Relena seemed to remember that her once-ally was handcuffed and withdrew her hand. Rei was being childish, she knew, but all thoughts of being polite to Relena had faded away once she saw that she had been tricked. It possibly wasn't even Relena's fault. Rei didn't care; she wanted someone to blame, even if she knew her own actions were her own fault.

And then Relena said, very quietly, "I really did want to help."

They were in space. The stars were still so far away, Rei thought. She watched as they lazily drifted away from her line of sight. There was a point in her life, she remembered, where she wanted to live in space, on the colonies. She had been five, and her mother had been alive. Then her mother died and her father became a man of the colonies. All thoughts of life in space immediately vanished, and she took to the shrine. Nine years later, she remembered she was a soldier of Mars, of the Moon, and all her tucked away longings slowly came back.

She never imagined the stars to be so distant.

"Get some sleep," Rei finally said, glancing at Relena. "It's been a long day."

Relena held her stare before she nodded. "You look tired as well."

Rei raised her eyebrows. "That's because I'm trying very hard not to yell at you."

That shut Relena up. She murmured another apology before she closed her eyes and let the world drift away. Rei watched her for a moment, wondering how someone so idealistic could have influenced a war so much. The whole world respected Relena, even those who opposed her. Rei, however, felt weary, wary, and all of the above. Relena was no Usagi.

But of course, Usagi was determined to never become Neo-Queen Serenity again...

She was jarred from her thoughts hours later when the pilot announced that they would be arriving at Japan's base space port. Relena woke with a start; she rubbed her eyes and suppressed a yawn as she sat up. "We're here?"

"Mm." Rei finally glanced over at the man. He was watching Relena; when he felt her eyes on him, he abruptly looked away, turning instead to Minako—Minako, who was still knocked out, blissfully unaware of the tension in the shuttle.

The second they landed, the man stood up. He pulled Relena along, who seemed to be protesting by moving slowly. "We're going straight to Preventers," he murmured, his hand on Relena's elbow.

Relena, however, glanced at Rei, who had also stood up. "If we just tell them, I'm sure they will understand."

"_We_ are not telling them anything." Rei watched as the man hoisted Minako over his shoulder. He said nothing, so she didn't find any need to acknowledge him. She continued to stay quiet as he led her down the space port, ignoring the stares in their direction—rather, less staring at Relena and more of the man, handcuffed-Rei and Minako-over-his-shoulder.

"Heero," Relena said, turning to the man. "Did you let anyone know—"

"Une and Sally are waiting for you," Heero said, momentarily meeting her gaze. Then he looked away. "As well as Noin."

Relena's posture stiffened. She gave a short nod. "I see."

Rei was unbothered by their exchange, taking instead the little bits of information that she could. So his name was Heero. He had contacted the head of Preventers somehow, meaning Preventers knew what had happened, meaning that one way or another they had been doomed from the start. Either that unnamed organization would have caught them in space, or Preventers would have rounded them up.

"Ugh," Rei grumbled, casting the unconscious Minako a dirty look. It was all her fault. It always was. Heero caught her gaze and flatly raised an eyebrow, thinking her look was for him. Don't flatter yourself, she thought, turning her eyes back in front.

In no time, there were in front of the Preventers Japan Headquarters. The guards at the entrance leapt at the sight of Relena. "Vice Foreign Minister, you're safe!"

"I understand Lady Une is waiting for me?"

"Yes ma'am, top floor." One of the guards bobbed his head before he greeted Heero. Heero barely nodded back as he shifted Minako in his arms. Rei hung back, following after him and ignoring the guards' inquisitive stares.

Preventers Headquarters was nothing like she had imagined. Then again, she hadn't thought much; they were, after all, the ones dense enough to give Minako a bodyguard job. Almost immediately Rei felt guilty for thinking that. She was just projecting, she thought. Minako was an efficient guard (hell, she had proved it time and time again saving Usagi's life); Rei was just upset at the turn of events.

Before they could get on the elevator, however, two men in the Preventers jackets came seemingly out of nowhere; one grabbed Rei by one of her handcuffed wrists. "Over this way," the one with the braid said. "Relena, you go with Wufei."

Heero stopped to give them a questioning glance. The braided man shrugged.

"The rest of the party's been detained. Wouldn't want them to miss their friends."

"This way," Wufei said, taking Relena by the elbow. She gave Rei a worried look before she finally turned around and complied.

Rei, however, averted her eyes. She caught the significant glances the braided man gave Heero, reading between their silences. It looked like something had happened—there was the way the braided man's lips twitching into a frown, the way Heero's eyes narrowed just the slightest.

Then Rei realized that she was acting just like Minako, scrounging for the littlest clues in other people's faces. It had been Ami's idea, actually; she was the one who had persuaded Minako to read a book on detecting lies in order to prepare her for the bodyguard job. In one month, the blonde had gone through, surprisingly, four books (real books, not manga) on facial movements and social cues.

Rei saw Heero opening a room, moving to place Minako inside. The braided Preventers agent, his hands still on her wrist, tsked. "Always told him to treat the ladies better."

He seemed to be expecting a reaction out of Rei. She just stared at him in the same way she would stare at Minako and Usagi.

"Jeez," he eventually grumbled, opening a door for her own detaining room. "And here I thought I was playing good cop."

Rei walked into the room, not giving him another glance. She settled down on the only furniture there—a worn futon—and leaned back against the wall. The door closed; she heard a beep and the sound of a latch locking her in. Briefly, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Well that was really anti-climatic," she grumbled to herself, wondering how in the world they were going to weasel their way out of this one.

* * *

**an** my thoughts exactly, rei. this chapter (and the next) have gone in a direction that is most difficult to write and idk how to do it ;; hopefully you all still enjoy?

JPandS: ahhh you're making me blush! haha i really appreciate your review; characterization is something i try to be careful with because i don't want to fall into the stereotypes you know? and oh jeez, duo and ami would be the most amusing pairing, he'd push her buttons all day long just to see her nutty reactions haha. and seeing as how this chapter went, hopefully mako could forgive wufei for drugging her tea, eh? anyway i hope this chapter doesn't disappoint! thank you so much for reading!

angelic. aquarian: haha my thing on couples is that i see most of them compatible with one another (ie; ami with wufei as well as ami with heero) so we'll see where it goes. ;) and i can totally see duo and minako getting into a lot of trouble together, making une and sally pull their hair out haha. hope you like the chapter! thank you for reading!

xo


	4. Chapter 4

**four**

"Oh," Minako said once she saw who she was sitting in front of, "shit."

It had come as a shock when she woke up with a massive headache in a detainment room back at headquarters. She almost had a heart attack when she discovered that Makoto, Ami and Rei had also been detained. Rei she could partly understand (maybe even Ami, if she _had_ sent that viral message), but Makoto? She didn't have a chance to ask; Heero wordlessly slipped a blindfold over her eyes, grabbing her by the handcuffs.

"Where are we going?" Minako asked, trying to make her voice as casual as possible, even though all she really wanted to do was shove her foot in Heero's back. Heero, of course, didn't answer. Someone else—a Preventers agent she didn't get a glimpse of—spoke up from behind her.

"Where else do you think?" he responded playfully.

Minako bit her lip as she heard a door open. She was shuffled through a room and settled down in a chair. She heard someone take a seat beside her. She blinked profusely after the blindfold was pulled off, but immediately she wished that she could hide behind it again once she saw the stare Une was giving her.

Cue the cussing.

"Oh shit indeed," Une said, her voice colder than Minako ever remembered. She glanced beside her to see Ami, whose face was visibly worried. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't throw you in prison right now."

Beside Ami, Rei pursed her lips and looked flatly out of the window behind Une. Ami glanced down at her lap. Minako bit her lip, but it was Makoto who spoke up nervously. "Prison? Can someone explain what's going on? I don't remember doing anything that would lead to jail time. In fact, _I_ was _drugged_."

"You assaulted two Preventers agents," Une said, not letting up. Makoto's eyes widened as she cast an incredulous glance behind her. Duo and Wufei nonchalantly stared back.

"Are you kidding me?" She turned back to Une, obviously upset at the turn of events. "Listen, ma'am, I don't know who you are, but I didn't do anything. Really. Honestly."

"Lady Une," Minako interrupted, looking up at her superior through her bangs. She knew how much of a talker Makoto was when the nerves struck. "Mako-chan's innocent."

"Considering your actions within the past twenty-eight hours, I find it hard to believe you." Une's eyes settled back onto Minako. Her expression seemed to say, "Go on, I'm waiting for whatever pathetic excuse you have."

"It's not just my story to tell," Minako eventually said, running her tongue over her teeth. She could see, out of the corner of her eye, Sally shaking her head. Damn it, she thought, because Sally had the greatest way of guilt-tripping her. It would have been ten times easier to lie to Une's face if Sally weren't present.

"You understand," Une said sharply, "that this is more than just a 'story.' You attempted to kidnap the Vice Foreign Minister Darlian. Unless you tell me exactly what is going on—"

"This is more than just an attempted kidnapping," Minako protested before she could stop herself. There it was again, her instincts acting faster than she could catch up. She was aware that Ami suddenly let out a defeated sigh, as if she knew what was going to happen. "It's more than just one woman, it's the fate of the world."

"Then spit it out," Une countered, not at all intrigued by what Minako was saying. Heero, standing beside Duo and Wufei, frowned. Fate of the world, did she say? Did she not realize that Relena had shaped the fate of the world more than once in the past six years?

Une watched as the blonde thought for a moment, her expression unreadable. She had met the new recruit once, in passing, but she mostly heard directly from Sally. A valuable asset, Sally had said, with great reflexes and an uncanny sense for protection. Perfect for the job of escorting Relena. Sally was never wrong about her instincts—so what had happened here? All Une saw before her was an uncertain, flimsy young woman who had cost the department a fortune trying to track her down.

"This does not leave the room," Minako said, her blue eyes stuck on Une's brown ones. She could feel everyone suddenly staring at her.

"Minako," Rei said warningly. Minako shook her head.

"Seriously, this doesn't leave the room."

Une nodded, lacing her fingers and resting her chin in them. She leaned forward. "Go on."

Minako took a deep breath. She glanced at her feet, steadying herself, before her eyes settled back on Une. "I'm the reincarnated form of Neo-Queen Serenity."

No one quite knew how to react. Heero and Wufei both stared as Duo scratched his head. He leaned over, nudging Heero in the side. "Is she nuts?" he whispered.

"Her file said nothing about that," Wufei muttered, not realizing that Duo wasn't honestly questioning her sanity. The three of them tried to gauge Une's expression. True to expectation, she looked angry. Not even a bewildered glance at Sally could calm her.

"Really?" Makoto finally said, looking at her friend in exasperation.

"Minako, you idiot," Rei grumbled.

"Shut up, Rei, I know what I'm doing—"

"No," Rei countered, glaring at her friend, "you _don't_. They're talking _prison_, not a slap on the wrist—"

"Okay, then what?" Minako retorted over Ami's head. Ami had closed her eyes, as if willing the situation to go away. "You want me to tell them we're senshi?"

"Why not?" Rei asked dryly. "After all, you had no problem spilling everything to Relena—"

"That's Miss Darlian to you," Minako sniffed. "Besides, didn't you see her? She's harmless."

"One of you better clear this up, now!" Une shouted, gaining back both their attentions.

It was as if the two had forgotten there were other people in the room. Minako actually blushed as Rei gave the blonde a frosty glare. "Minako, if you're going to say it, then just tell them the truth."

"Yes, please," Une said. "Although I might not already believe you, given what you've just told us."

Minako, somehow, locked eyes with Sally. She started, seeing the disapproving look in the older woman's eyes. Great, she thought, because Sally knew how to use her eyes so well. They were so incredibly honest; already Minako could feel the guilt creeping in the back of her mind. She turned a frustrated face back at Une.

"We're reincarnated sailor senshi, and the only reason we persuaded Miss Darlian to come with us to space was so we could use her as ransom. There's a terrorist organization that's hiding behind the name of the Sanc Kingdom, and they have something that belongs to us."

"If you're going to keep in that line of excuse—"

Une broke off when a golden crystal floated out of Minako's chest. Ami heaved another sigh, shaking her head. "This was something we probably should have discussed beforehand."

"Or, you know, hinted at, seeing as some of us are completely in the dark," Makoto added wryly.

"What," Duo said, voicing everyone else's opinion, "the hell is that?"

At the sound of his voice, Ami cast her gaze back to her lap. She didn't remember the details, no, but she felt betrayed nonetheless. He had escorted her to the hospital after the raid on The Hideout; he had even stuck around, waiting for her to finish her check-up. She should have known better, she thought—because there she was, accepting a drugged drink a second time, waking up to find that she had been tricked.

He was only doing his job, she tried to reason. But at the same time, it was embarrassing how much she had trusted him.

"This is my sailor crystal," Minako said as the crystal spun around in front of her. "In Crystal Tokyo, it was the source of my power."

"This has to be some kind of joke," Duo said, walking around until he was directly in front of Minako. He leaned in, staring at the crystal. She shrugged.

"Touch it if you want."

"No way," Duo said immediately, casting a dubious glance at Heero and Wufei. Both of them looked like they didn't want to be as curious as they were. "This has to be some kind of trick."

It was Sally who stepped forward and grasped the crystal in her hand. Her eyes widened as she felt a warmth flow through her. She opened her hand, and the crystal floated above her palm. The feeling was almost indescribable... There was a sense of awe that came with it.

"Sally," Une said, unable to take her eyes off the glowing crystal. "Please tell me I'm hallucinating."

"Funny," Sally mumbled, shaking her head. "I'm here holding it, and I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"I can't believe I'm seeing this," Une said. She watched as Sally spun the crystal above her hand, analyzing it at every angle. Duo was still shaking his head, wondering if maybe he was drunk. "What is it?"

"I don't..." Sally trailed off, looking at Minako. Minako met her gaze head-on. "It just feels—"

"It used to harness the power of light and love." Minako's lips turned up. "I was Sailor Venus."

"Leader of the sailor senshi," Une murmured. Sally had brought the crystal over to her. Heero watched as Une cautiously touched it. He was briefly curious as to what he would feel if he touched the thing—but only for a moment. The curiosity immediately faded away when he noticed a subtle change in Une's expression—one that softened her gaze just the slightest, made her a little more vulnerable. "I can't believe this."

She took a moment longer to examine the crystal before she handed it back to Sally. Sally gently returned it to Minako; the crystal floated back into her chest, as if it knew where it belonged. "Lady Une, do you believe me now?"

"Did you give us a chance not to?" Une answered. She stood up again, her hands flat on her desk as she looked each young woman in the eye. "That still doesn't give you any right to kidnap Relena—"

"Like Minako said," Ami interrupted, surprising everyone in the room, "this is a matter of the fate of the world. This unnamed organization concerns not just us but you as well—"

"There's no proof they exist," Une cut in. "We have no evidence—"

"Relena was just almost blown to bits by her bodyguard," Minako picking up where Ami had left off. "Honestly, right now I don't care if you believe me or not. Put me in jail, whatever, I'll just get out. But I did my job. I protected Relena from a terrorist attack and I kept her out of danger."

"And what would have happened if Agent Yuy hadn't interfered?" Une asked, watching Minako carefully.

"Who knows what would have happened?" Minako said defiantly, turning to give Heero a definite annoyed glance. "Maybe he shouldn't have acted so recklessly and we would have found out."

"This isn't a joking matter, Aino."

"I'm not joking," Minako said, clenching her hands, still behind her, into fists. "If I had thought that I was putting Relena in any kind of danger, I wouldn't have done what I did."

"And you, Miss Hino," Une said abruptly, sliding her eyes to Rei knowingly. "What role do you play?"

Rei took a moment to reply. The woman in front of her was not necessarily a stranger; her image had been broadcasted plenty of times during the Eve Wars. It was her reputation that bothered Rei. This woman had fully supported OZ, fully opposed White Fang. And, from what she had heard from soldiers who had stayed at the shrine to recover, this was the woman who fully loved Treize Kushrenada.

Not for the first time in her life, Rei wondered why the strongest of women did the stupidest of things for love.

"She blackmailed me," Rei eventually said in a flat voice. Both Minako and Ami shot her a glare. Rei almost rolled her eyes for the tenth time that day. "But I thought it was one way to expose this organization to the world."

"And I take it you acted without your father's permission," Une said. She saw the way the priestess's wary expression suddenly turned hostile. Rumor had it that father and daughter had a strained relationship; she had no idea just how strained until now. "Yet somehow you managed to drag his name into this."

"I beg your pardon?" Rei said stiffly. Ami bit her lip, realizing at once that Une was goading the priestess on.

"The shuttle you took here was your father's private shuttle, was it not?"

"That doesn't mean—"

"Security footage on colony X-18774 also shows that you were attacked by a group of men," Une continued with raised eyebrows.

"They were men of that terrorist organization," Rei said, but as soon as the words left her mouth she understood. Her breath caught. "No..."

Une gave her a piercing stare. "No, by men who recognized you as Senator Hino's daughter."

Rei bit the inside of her cheek, staring past Une to the world outside. It was still snowing. She had noticed that on the colonies, their snow wasn't cold. Or maybe she had been too caught up in trying to fight off those men—who, apparently, wanted _her_, not Relena—to realize that it was cold. Again, she wondered why she agreed with the stupid plan in the first place.

"I do wonder," Une continued after a moment, "how a shrine maiden could hold her own against a group of grown men."

"How else do you expect an adolescent girl during the war to defend herself from soldiers who wanted to get fresh?" Rei's voice was cold; she ignored the sudden glances the other senshi gave her. Aside from Minako telling them about her days as Sailor V, the rest of them had closed up about the war. Ami's mother had been a doctor on the frontline; she had seen injuries that a teenager never should have experienced, and as a result she didn't find much interest in reliving her memories. Makoto had mentioned enlisting for The Alliance, but she had never made it out of training. Other than that, she was vague on the details, leading the others to assume that Makoto also had her own baggage to deal with.

"And that message you sent," Une said slowly, looking from Rei to Minako.

"That wasn't us," Minako said, turning away from Rei. "Honest. I'm not smart enough, and Rei can't use computers."

She thoroughly ignored the incredibly scathing look that Rei gave her. Une lowered her eyebrows. "Then who was it? It couldn't be a coincidence."

Minako stared right at Une. "I have no idea," she lied easily. Beside her, Ami shook her head.

"It's alright, Minako. They traced the message to The Hideout." Ami hesitated before she looked up at Une. Her gaze this time was clear and confident. "That was what they called the underground base for their operations. I'm still unsure what their aim was, but I am relatively certain that they are not connected in any way to Miss Peacecraft's disappearance. I had sent the message for my own gain."

"Your own gain?" Une studied the petit young woman in front of her. Duo, who had returned to standing by Wufei and Heero, frowned. He of all people knew that looks were misleading, but Ami didn't seem like she could hurt a fly.

"I had been held there against my will for two years," Ami confessed. "They threatened to kill my father. They had tracked me down because I could crack transmissions and codes that Preventers agents were using to communicate. I had just cracked the code about Miss Peacecraft and Minako being missing when I thought—this was my chance to get free."

"You led us to this Hideout," Une concluded, her eyes narrowing. "You left that message traceable on purpose. You wanted Preventers to raid the base so you would be rescued."

"I do apologize for using Preventers that way, but I hadn't meant to just save myself," Ami continued, her tone even. "The message was intended to lure the terrorist organization out. Now they know that someone is aware of them; they'll be forced to show themselves soon in order to retaliate."

"And if they won't?"

"They will," Ami said confidently, making Une raise her eyebrows. "I'm fairly certain. Their behavior thus far has been low-key to avoid attention. The fact that they decided for such a grandeur display by using explosives at Miss Darlian's press conference leads me to believe that they now have something to use as leverage. I don't think they have any more reasons to hide."

"She's top of her class," Minako added, seeing the blank stares from most of the room. At this, Ami blushed and glanced down at her feet.

"That doesn't have anything to do with—"

"Gives you credibility," Minako said swiftly, cutting her off. She turned back to Une, who was watching Ami with a curious look. A silence filled the wait before Une spoke again.

"Miss Kino, you're free to go."

Makoto stared. "What?"

"You're free to go." Une looked unbothered that Makoto was looking at her as if she had five heads. "Agents Chang and Maxwell have decided against pressing charges against you. Seeing as there is no evidence that you were involved in the attempted kidnapping of the Vice Foreign Minsiter Darlian, there is no other reason to hold you."

Makoto's mouth opened. Then she whipped her head around, staring dumbly at Duo and Wufei. Wufei met her gaze with a sullen stare as Duo just winked. She turned back to Une, perturbed. "What about my friends?"

"I do wish that we all could stay here and chat more," Une said, leaning back in her seat. "I'm curious to learn about the sailor senshi. Otherwise, I can't lawfully keep you or Miss Hino here."

Minako's brow furrowed as she glanced at Rei. Ami let out a small sigh as she realized what was happening. "Diplomatic immunity," she said, looking at Rei. She was unsurprised to find that Rei's expression had frozen.

"Indeed," Une confirmed. "Of course, Senator Hino will be notified—"

"I refuse," Rei said with a clenched jaw. Everyone in the room stared at her.

"Rei," Makoto said quietly, giving her friend a concerned glance. "Are you sure?"

"I knew what I was doing," Rei said stubbornly. "I'm not going to hide under his name."

"As admirable as that is, you can't refuse. You are exempt from punishment by law and I can't change that." Une quickly turned her gaze to Ami and Minako before Rei could try to argue. "Aino, you are hereby stripped of your status of a Preventers Protective Services Agent. Starting tomorrow, you will be under probation for six months. Miss Mizuno, you are also placed under probation for one year. During this time period, the two of you will be required to check in for daily monitoring."

Minako opened her mouth to argue before she caught Sally's eye. And then she had the feeling that Une hadn't intended to punish them at all. She looked at Ami, who, from her troubled gaze, seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

"You both are also required to offer your services to Preventers," Une concluded, watching each of their expressions.

"I don't understand," Minako blurted out, her eyes wide. She stood up, trying to wriggle out of her handcuffs. "Lady Une, you're—you tricked us."

"Aino, sit down," Sally said. Minako sat, but her gaze hardened.

"You knew all along," she accused. "What was the point of interrogating us if you knew?"

"I won't deny it," Une said, ignoring Rei and Makoto's sudden glares. "I heard the story from Relena. Of course I doubted her, but she had no reason to make it up. I had originally thought you tricked her somehow, with false proof. I didn't expect to see it with my own eyes. As to why I interrogated you, how else would you learn that other people's lives are not a game?"

"I said it before," Minako said indignantly, "I never meant any harm to Relena's life."

"Miss Mizuno," Sally said, calling Ami's attention to her. "The base you had been held at—The Hideout, you called it? The man in charge was Urtuku, was it not?"

Ami nodded slowly. Minako's eyes widened even more. "Urtuku? No way—"

"Urtuku was one of Relena's bodyguards," Une explained to Ami. At once her eyes widened in realization—that The Hideout had everything to do with the attack on Relena. "A few hours before we brought you in, Yorkton confessed to everything. He admitted that he had tried to place the blame on you, Aino, for planting explosives in the press conference. He also gave up his fellow bodyguards as accomplices."

"Why?" Minako asked. "What made him confess?"

"Agent Yuy is very persuasive when he wants to be," Une said, giving Heero a smile. "Unfortunately, when we left Yorkton to his own, he killed himself. Bit down on his tongue. We found the other bodyguards in their respective homes. They all had committed suicide."

Ami had the urge to run her hands through her hair as she stared out of the window, barely picking up that the snow was blowing harder. She had been kidnapped by Urtuku. Urtuku was Relena's bodyguard. Relena's bodyguards had been a part of the terrorist organization. She had been in enemy territory for two years without even knowing it.

She clenched her eyes shut, trying to block out Minako's voice. Was it all mere coincidence, or had Urtuku known something? No, Urtuku wouldn't have let her live freely during the day if he had known. Ami bit her lip, running through the past two years in her mind. There had to be some clue that she missed, somewhere along the line.

"Miss Mizuno."

At Une's voice, Ami's eyes snapped open to find Minako peering at her worriedly. "Oh, I apologize, I was just thinking—"

"No need," Une said smoothly. "I was just saying that during your probation, you will be working with Agent Yuy in the Intelligence, Technology and Development department. You will leave in a week for Brussels."

"Oh," Ami said, blinking as she shook her head. "That's such short notice—I have to notify the university first."

Une had that curious look on her face again. She almost smiled. "Of course. We can take care of that for you. As for you, Aino, you'll be working directly under Sally."

Duo gave Wufei a pointed glance with wiggled eyebrows, one Wufei ignored as he was too busy scowling at Une. "Current Affairs has a limited budget as it is, Lady Une—"

"Wufei," Sally interrupted, looking amused. Minako had turned in her seat, looking Wufei up and down, as if she were trying to assess his worth. "You're right, Current Affairs does have a limited budget. That's why Minako will be working in Investigations."

"I will?" Minako asked, forgetting immediately about Wufei as she blinked at Sally. "But Lady Une just said—"

"I trust you'll take care of Current Affairs in my absence," Sally said, even going so far as to rest a hand on Wufei's shoulder. His face was impassive as he stiffened, staring at her. She smiled. "And do mind the explosives."

"Your promotion is effective immediately, Agent Chang," Une said, watching as Duo congratulated him by slapping him on the back. If anything, Wufei seemed more confused at the turn of events. "If you have any questions, Sally will, of course, help you."

Wufei nodded, still not quite sure what had just happened. "Yes, Lady Une."

"So," Une said, this time actually smiling. Her face suddenly seemed a lot warmer as she looked at each other the former sailor senshi. "I'm sure we have a lot to discuss, then."

"How about we get these handcuffs off first?" Makoto suggested with a sheepish smile. Her anger earlier had faded away. It was true that she still felt uneasy, seeing as Une had hassled them for no other reason than to teach them a lesson—but allies were still allies. And if anything, Une was just doing her job. It was Minako who she should have directed her anger at—because everything, in the end, was somehow always Minako's fault.

At Une's nod, Heero reached forward, freeing her hands from their restraints. He didn't bother to acknowledge her gratitude as he swiftly removed Rei's. Wufei and Duo both worked on Ami and Minako respectively. As soon as the cuffs clicked open, Minako stood up. She whirled around, glaring past Duo at Heero.

"Yuy," she said in a low voice. He blankly looked up from Rei's handcuffs. Minako narrowed her eyes, one hand on the back of her chair as she leaned forward. "Don't think I forgot how you took advantage of me. I'm watching you and your grimy little hands."

With a flip of her hair, she turned back around and sat primly in her seat. Duo whistled, raising eyebrows at Heero as Wufei concluded that Aino was definitely not worth his time.

"Lady Une," Minako said with a vibrant smile, as if she had not just threatened one of Preventers' best agents, "I'll be glad to answer any questions you have now that we no longer have any pretenses."

Makoto cringed at the sweetness of her voice and Rei shook her head. Ami actually turned to Heero and mouthed a slight apology. Heero barely shrugged, turning to leave the room. If they were done, then he could get back to tracking Yorkton's last locations. This whole situation was more than he had expected, and although it seemed whimsical, it was not exactly preposterous as all the pieces seemed to fit into place. Besides, if they were lying, they weren't as skilled as everyone thought. He had, after all, taken Aino out with barely any effort.

"You're free to leave if you want," Une said, catching the slight glances Wufei and Duo gave Heero's disappearing figure. "Thank you for your work today."

Wufei and Duo both nodded. They said their farewells to Sally before turning to leave.

"Hey, um, Miss Mizuno," Duo said suddenly, catching everyone's attention. Rei was giving him an incredibly doubtful glare; Makoto was equally as suspicious, her arm trailing on the back of Rei's chair so she could rest a hand on Ami's shoulder. Minako, however, seemed intrigued.

"Yes?" Ami said after a moment, not quite meeting his gaze. He sighed, knowing that an apology wouldn't fix things. Instead, he held out a manila envelope.

"I had one of the guys in Cleanup look for these," Duo said, watching as Ami hesitantly take the envelope. She slid her finger under the flap, giving him a slight glance before she peeked in. Then her face lit up in wonder as she gasped.

"How on earth—I thought these were gone forever!" Duo couldn't help but look pleased as a smile suddenly bloomed onto her face. "They're not even damaged or anything!"

"Sorry for, you know," Duo said, shrugging. Minako was quizzically peering at the sheets in Ami's hand.

"Oh," Ami said, as if remembering where she was and why she was there. The smile slipped as she bowed her head. "Thank you for..."

She trailed off, clutching her study guides in her hands tightly. Duo nodded, taking the hint. "Right, gotcha. Well, good luck studying. See you in Brussels."

He ignored Wufei's inquisitive glance as he threw an arm around him, leading him out of the room. Wufei rolled his eyes. "Maxwell—"

"So, since you got that promotion, you're buying?"

"You're going back on your word now? Typical."

"Oh come on, Wufei!"

Their bickering faded as the door closed. At once Makoto turned a flat look onto Minako. "You _kidnapped_ Relena?"

"I did not _kidnap_," Minako protested. "I was protecting her!"

Sally let out a sigh; she grabbed Minako and threw her arms around her, interrupting what could have been a squabble. "Don't think you're getting off easy, Aino. I'm prepared to make you _work_, and if you _ever_ pull any of this again I will personally find you myself," Sally said sternly. "And trust me, Heero is a teddy bear compared to me."

Rei, Ami and Makoto all blinked as Minako laughed, wrapping her own arms around Sally. "I believe it," she said warmly, burying her face in Sally's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, I didn't plan on making you worry."

"We're serious about this probation, Aino," Une said. Minako pulled away from Sally, turning big eyes onto her.

"I'm so incredibly sorry, Lady Une, I'm really really sorry—"

"Don't you think she should be apologizing to us?" Makoto asked Rei under her breath.

"You're just lucky Wufei caught on," Sally said, releasing her hold on Minako. "We tried tracking down this organization, but it seems like they had planned for Yorkton and the other men to be caught."

"What do you mean?" Minako turned to Une, who was rummaging through a drawer in her desk. "What's the plan now?"

"Nothing," Une said plainly. "I agree with Miss Mizuno that they will act on their own time."

"Ami, please," Ami spoke up. "And do you mean to say you agree with me now, or you had agreed all along?"

"A little bit of both." Une pulled out a folder, flipping through it. She found what she was looking for and handed the sheet to Sally. "Do you mind ordering take-out?"

"Of course not. The usual?"

"Please." Une flashed Sally a smile before she turned back to the others. Sally left the room to make the call. "You understand that I'm bending every single rule there is by not prosecuting you four."

"Then why?" Rei asked, not quite accustomed to the sudden comfortable air in the room. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you need our help, and we need yours." Une sighed, placing her chin in her hand. The posture made her look more approachable, especially with the tired look she had on. "And to be honest, I'm just really curious about this sailor senshi thing."

"Nothing curious about it," Makoto said, stretching her legs out. She leaned back in her seat more comfortably. "We don't have our powers."

"No?"

"No," Ami admitted. "I think it might have something to do with the Ginzuishou."

"That's what they have, then?" Une tilted her head, recollecting what she knew about the era of Crystal Tokyo. Minako nodded slowly.

"Unfortunately. We're still not sure how it happened. The last time we were reincarnated, the Ginzuishou was within Serenity. We don't know why it's so different this time."

"Actually," Ami said, drawing all eyes, "I have a theory. Serenity gave up her life to sustain the first colony. Perhaps she had wanted for the expansion of space so badly that the Ginzuishou was never reincarnated with her. Instead, it stayed to preserve the integrity of the colony. I assume its powers grew dormant when mankind found a way to sustain life without needing its magic, and..."

"What, you think someone just picked up the Ginzuishou off the ground and kept it?" Makoto had meant it as a joke, but Ami bit her lip. "No way."

"It's plausible." Ami shrugged. "I've tried tracing the Ginzuishou's energy with the supercomputer, but—"

"You still have that?" Minako asked with wide eyes.

"I rebuilt it," Ami confessed. "It took me awhile, and it's not quite up to par as before, but it manages."

"To think that life outside of Earth would not be possible if it weren't for Neo-Queen Serenity," Une said, interrupting their conversation. She was frowning as she looked to Ami. "The world owes a lot to you."

"Bah," Minako said, shrugging the compliment away. "Anyway, Lady Une, back to this organization. We know close to nothing about them, except that their symbol is a shield and a rose. Other than what we found out tonight, we're completely in the dark."

"Yorkton did manage to drop a few hints," Une said, nodding her head. "But I'm afraid we're in the same situation. Rest assured, your identities have been kept secret. Yorkton thinks you were acting on Preventers orders. As for you, Ami—well, all witnesses of you in that underground base are dead."

The four young women in front of her fell silent, all taking the news differently. Ami, as Une had noticed throughout the meeting, was staring off as she slowly pieced everything together. Makoto seemed troubled, possibly more at the fact that her friend had been threatened and she hadn't known about it. Rei was more disgruntled than the rest as she crossed her legs and let out a sigh. And Minako had a strong look in her eyes as she nodded at Une's words.

"Sally and I are going to lead operations in trying to find them, aren't we?"

"Of course," Une confirmed. "Yorkton let it slip that they chose Relena because they were all descendents of former Sanc Kingdom diplomats. I'm not sure what this means, but Sally wants to take a look at the Sanc Kingdom ruins."

"Man," Minako said, glancing at her fellow former-senshi. "This is a lot more twisted than we thought, huh?"

"I'm curious to something else," Une said. When they all turned back to her, she chose her words carefully. "What of Neo-Queen Serenity? I assume she was reincarnated as well."

"She was," Makoto said. "But you have to understand, we're not telling you where she is."

"Of course," Une replied. "But what does she think of this situation? I'm sure her insight would be helpful."

It didn't take a genius to read the guilty expressions on their faces. Une sighed.

"She doesn't know?"

"She knows to an extent," Minako quickly corrected. "That someone has the Ginzuishou. But she doesn't exactly know that it's a terrorist organization."

"Is she not worried?"

"She's worried to death," Makoto explained, sharing a glance with Rei. More than once they had caught Usagi staring off at the moon when she thought they weren't looking. "That's exactly why we're not telling her. She shouldn't have to worry about it."

Une wisely kept quiet, knowing that if she said what she really thought (that a ruler should always worry, that it was her crystal, her duty and they had no right trying to shelter her), the young women would take offense. Instead she swiftly changed the subject. "Makoto, Rei, while you two are not obligated to assist—"

"Trust me," Makoto said, almost eagerly, "I want to help. I don't have much official training, but I was enlisted during the Eve Wars, I'm somewhat useful."

"I appreciate it," Une said sincerely. She already had ideas on how to effectively incorporate Makoto into the investigation. She turned to Rei. "And you?"

Rei's expression didn't change as she shrugged a shoulder. "I'm a shrine maiden with no powers. I can't do much."

Une relented for the moment, knowing that there would be no convincing her if she was as stubborn as her father. Still, the support of the daughter of a colony diplomat would have been more than good enough bait to draw the organization out further. "I understand."

It was an hour later when Sally returned with bags of food and drink. She smiled at them all, placing the bags on Une's desk. "I went out and got something healthier instead."

"Thank you," Une said, trying not make a face as Sally pulled out a boxed salad. She motioned for the others to help themselves as she pulled out a drink. Minako immediately rummaged through the bags, pulling out different drinks and tossing them to the other girls.

"Did I miss much?"

"I was just debriefing them on the situation." Une took a long drink from her can, still trying to wrap her mind around the idea that these girls were legends. Powerless legends, but once upon a time the world had feared them. She turned to Sally, noticing the contemplative look on her face. "Something on your mind, Sally?"

Sally had the grace to look slightly abashed. "It's just... Miss Kino—"

"Makoto, please," Makoto said, feeling at ease around this woman.

"Makoto," Sally corrected herself. "And Ami, you too. Please, don't blame Wufei and Duo for what they had to do. It was nothing against you. They were only following orders."

Ami felt her throat clench up. "I understand," she said softly, "but—"

"But it was rude," Makoto said, though she didn't sound offended. "Wasn't there any other way?"

"From what security footage showed me," Une said wryly, "you held your own against Chang. I assume that there wasn't any other way."

Makoto glanced down suddenly, playing with the hem of her shirt. "Sorry about that, I just..."

"Don't apologize," Minako said suddenly, her eyes lighting up. "Wufei's hot, Mako, but totally not my type. I bet he liked that you kicked his ass."

Rei smacked her forehead, Ami pinched the bridge of her nose and Makoto turned beet red. "Minako, now isn't the time—"

"He probably did," Sally mused, more to herself than the others. At Minako's sudden guffaw, she blinked. Had she said that out loud?

"Jeez," Makoto mumbled, looking like she wanted to bury her face in her turtleneck. Une again found herself thinking about how ordinary these young women were. But she could tell, underneath the girlish flares, that they were soldiers—Mizuno had a razor-sharp mind, and Aino had uncanny instincts. Kino had been adept enough to throw Wufei off guard, and Hino had single-handedly taken down a group of outlaws before outrunning them. Which made her wonder...

"Reincarnation," Une said, interrupting the banter. "I might still need some clarification. Are you living your lives as you were in Crystal Tokyo, or are you shaped by your lives in this time?"

"It gets confusing," Minako automatically replied, in a way that made Une realize the young woman had thought about the subject before, "but until I was thirteen, I had no idea of my past life. It's—I'm not sure why, maybe destiny has a big role in this, but our lives turned out similar to the past..."

"How so?" Sally asked, perching on the edge of Une's desk. She was probably the only person who could get away with that.

"My parents died in a plane crash," Makoto revealed. Rei paused to give her a brief glance. In the past, Makoto would have seemed embarrassed to share the information; she was never the kind of girl to want pity. Now, however, she stated the fact confidently—as if she had been hardened by something. The war. "Both lives. Used to be terrified of flying."

"My father," Ami began, but she cut herself off. She stood up abruptly, looking alarmed. "Lady Une, ma'am, I was held hostage because they threatened my father's life—"

"He's fine," Sally said, reaching forward to take Ami by the arm. "He's fine. He was being watched by Halston, but of course Halston killed himself. We offered your father protective services, but he refused."

"Is he—" Ami broke off, shaking her head. She shouldn't start caring now. It was years too late to start caring. "I'm sorry. Thank you for looking after him."

Sally patted her shoulder, giving her a concerned look. "We could have men trail him anyway, if you'd like."

"No, thank you." Ami folded her hands in her lap, recomposing herself. "I apologize for jumping topics. But my father in the past is the same as he is now. My mother as well. I can only assume that our families had been reincarnated as well."

"It's better not to think about it," Minako added in, seeing Une's question in her face. "We've all chosen to leave the twentieth and thirtieth centuries behind. Our lives now are our lives now."

"It must be difficult," Une said.

"It is," Minako replied, flashing a brilliant grin. "But we've dealt with worse."

x

"Everything's fine?" Quatre heaved a sigh, his body slinking down in his seat in relief. "Goodness, I was about to board the next flight—"

"No need," Duo's cheerful voice reassured him. "But get this—crazy ladies, everywhere. You won't believe it when we tell you, Quatre."

"And I suspect that you're not allowed to tell me."

"Of course not," Duo said. Quatre could just picture him rolling his eyes. "Has that stopped us before? Seriously though, even Wufei's shaken up—"

Quatre could hear Wufei grumbling something in the background. He assumed that Wufei was not as shaken up as Duo claimed. "Well, I suppose you could let me know in a few days."

"You comin' back to Earth?"

"Just to give out invitations."

There was a pause, in which Quatre heard Duo call for a taxi. He would have been worried about the security of their conversation if it weren't for the fact that it was Duo he was talking to. Not even Preventers could tap the line. After a moment, Duo returned back to the conversation. "Invitations?"

"In light of everything that's happened, I sort of feel bad thinking about invitations at a time like this."

"Now, now, we talked about this," Duo said, and Quatre pictured him wagging a finger. "No need to feel guilty about every little thing in the universe, my friend."

"Of course, of course." Quatre couldn't help but smile. Truth be told, he missed his old companions. He had been in space for the past year, acting as a peacemaker between Preventers and the colonies. At first he had been an agent in the Intelligence, Technology and Development department with Heero; then the old leader of Foreign Affairs fired his best diplomat. Une had no choice but to transfer him to Foreign Affairs, which, he thought, was not necessarily a bad thing.

Quatre was good at it—acting as the go-between, pacifying arguments before they started. Politicians knew better than to trust each other, but they trusted _him_. The heir to the Winner legacy, who had spent only a portion of his endless fortune on repairing the colonies after the war. If there was anyone who understood a politician of the colony, it had to be him.

Still, Quatre missed being around people he didn't have to quite put on a face for.

"So," Duo egged on. "Invitations?"

"Oh! Right," Quatre said, and he allowed himself to smile. "Well, Rashid's getting married."

"You're kidding!" Duo shouted. "Married?"

"He's incredibly happy," Quatre said. He sighed again, glancing at the clock beside him. "Anyway, I'll be landing in Venice tomorrow. I've got some business with one of the diplomats there."

"Right, right," Duo said, sounding obviously distracted. "Married, wow. Who's the lucky lady?"

"Someone he met during the war." Quatre tried to make his voice as light as possible.

"I have to meet her," Duo said. "Gotta approve of the big guy's pick, you know."

"Are you inviting yourself home with me?"

"Yeah, I'm due for a vacation anyway. Is she hot?"

Quatre laughed. Of course Duo would invite himself over, and of course the first thing he wanted to know was how attractive she was. "You can find out for yourself."

"Fine," Duo gave in. "Alright, catch you later, Q!"

Quatre hung up, playing with his phone for a moment. While it was true Rashid was happy, he couldn't help but have his doubts. He didn't know what it was; the fiancé was nice, if not a bit cold. And she made Rashid smile in a way Quatre had never seen before. The rest of the Maganac Corps absolutely adored her, thinking she was perfect for Rashid. They even started a fund for the future children.

But Quatre just couldn't bring himself to like her. He had the nagging feeling that she was hiding something—something that maybe Rashid should know.

He dialed Rashid's number, hooking his phone up to the screen. It was after a moment that someone picked up—not Rashid. Instead a pretty girl with dark hair and red lips answered. "Kurama," she said, not bothering to look at the screen as she reached for something he couldn't see.

"Hotaru?"

Hotaru was the young woman who part-time lived with Rashid and Setsuna when she wasn't too busy gallivanting across the world with Russian violinists and Italian daredevils. Quatre had been wary when he first met her; that was before he realized that just as Setsuna had wormed her way into the Maganac's approval, Hotaru had done the same. The only difference was that Quatre, for some reason, found her more endearing, and possibly even trustworthy.

"Oh, Monsieur Winner." She paused in her search and turned her eyes to him. A delighted grin made its way onto her face. "You are well?"

"Quatre," he said, reminding her for the hundredth time that she didn't have to be so formal. A part of him wondered if maybe she did it on purpose, especially as her grinned widened.

"Yes, that is your name." She tilted her head. "Are you looking for Rashid?"

"Is he busy?"

"A little." Hotaru wrinkled her nose. "It is urgent?"

"You French is starting to sneak through your Arabic," Quatre replied. Hotaru gave him a look.

"My French always sneaks through, _Monsieur Winner_. Is there a reason you called other than to tease me?"

"I just wanted to let Rashid know that I'll be delivering invitations soon. The date is still set?"

"Of course the date is set!" a voice that was clearly not Hotaru's rang out. She gave a little yelp as Auda's face suddenly smushed against the screen. "Master Quatre! You look healthy!"

"We miss you!" Another voice rang out as an arm flailed onto the screen. "Here, turn it my way—"

The screen pivoted abruptly, and soon Abdul was beaming at him. Quatre couldn't help but laugh; along with seeing his old comrades, he looked forward to reuniting with his old family. "You look well."

"As well as I can! Rashid is turning out to be a monster bride."

"He's a man, he can't be a monster bride," Auda argued. Abdul ignored him, continuing on with his rant.

"You need to come back soon, Master Quatre, and set him straight. Not even Setsuna can calm him down!"

"Of course, of course," Quatre said, shaking his head. "I'll be home in about a week, with Duo. You can wait that long, right?"

"Yes, sir!" Auda said, saluting him.

"That wasn't an—"

"We look forward to seeing you!" Abdul quipped before the two of them disappeared from sight. Hotaru, looking hassled, turned the screen back to her.

"I think Auda just sat on me," she said.

"You don't seem too bothered."

At which she rolled her eyes.

"You look tired," she commented after a moment. Quatre blinked.

"I do? It must be the jet lag."

"You should hope it is." Before he could ask what that meant, she abruptly changed the subject. "What can I tell Rashid, then?"

"Just that I'll be back in a week, and I'll be delivering the Preventers invitations."

"I'll let him know."

"He's turning into a bride monster?"

Hotaru started smiling again. "He's driving Setsuna up the wall. It would be funny if I didn't have to deal with the aftermath."

"Is he that nervous about the wedding?" Quatre tried to remember the last time he had seen Rashid in a fit of nerves. It probably had to be when he tried to single-handedly diffuse a terrorist situation on a colony in L2. He couldn't imagine comparing a wedding to that.

"The wedding? No, it's..." Hotaru trailed off, a sudden look in her eyes. "You don't know yet, do you?"

"Know? Know what?"

Hotaru pinched her thumb and index finger together, running them across her lips. "I have been sworn to secrecy."

"You know I'll find out," Quatre said, raising his eyebrows.

"So long as it's not from me."

"Fine," Quatre relented. "You win. I'll find out on my own."

"Of course you will."

"I'll see you in a week."

"Mm," Hotaru said, halting him from continuing his farewells. "I'll be in Moscow."

Moscow, Quatre thought with a shudder. So very, very different from the nice, warm desert. "Then next time, I suppose?"

"A shame, I would have liked to meet this friend you are bringing." A mischievous look came across her features. "Auda says your friends are as handsome as you."

"And I see you and Lady Michiru are still best of friends," Quatre said good-naturedly, knowing she was just teasing him. If anything, the girl probably had her eye on Abdul. Possibly. Maybe.

"I'll tell her you say hello."

"In Moscow," Quatre said, shaking his head again. "Bye, Hotaru."

"Bye." A pause, then she added before she hung up, "And congratulations on becoming an uncle."

"Thanks," Quatre said off-handedly, hanging up. It was five minutes later when her words finally registered and he almost fell out of his chair. "Uncle?!"

* * *

**an** mannnn i am not satisfied with this chapter but i've rewritten it to the point where my muses are telling me to get over it haha. very senshi heavy (and maybe lady une is being too lax with our chicas), but i hope it's not too confusing ;;;

JPandS: oh i think rei and minako are always such a treat to write. i actually might have subconsciously paralleled some of their relationship into wufei and duo -.-; but yes! wufei is one of those characters i am so afraid to mess up bc i love him and his misunderstood little heart so dearly. the same goes for trowa, which is half the reason why he hasn't made an appearance yet haha. and yes, usagi will definitely be making her debut soon ;) thank you for reading!

collegegal: thank you! i've sort of turned this into my little pet project for now, so hopefully the updates will keep coming. thanks for the review!

Aurora of Moonblade: ahhh hopefully minako is still charming in this chapter! i couldn't decide how i wanted to events to unfold, and maybe everyone's a little too lax, but hopefully she's still enjoyably in character in here. thank you for the review!

thank you! xo


	5. Chapter 5

**five**

Ami peered so closely at the screen that her nose was almost touching it. She honestly didn't need to look at it so closely, but it was a bad habit of hers. The words on the screen could be in large bolded font and she would still be doing the same thing. Whenever Minako made fun of her, she reasoned that it was because she liked seeing things in a different angle.

Currently, Ami was trying to figure out why the code in the new software designed to automatically download urgent requests for the Emergency Squad was not doing what it was supposed so. She pressed one finger to the screen, scrolling down slowly. Had she overlooked something? That was unlikely. Possible, but unlikely.

"Where are you?" Ami whispered, tilting her head as she continued to scroll. She quickly ran the algorithm through her mind. It should have theoretically worked. "Hmm..."

"Check section five."

With a squeak, Ami zoomed away from the screen, clutching at the edge of her desk. Her sudden motion tipped over a mug of pens. She scrambled to catch them before they rolled over; at the same time, she adjusted her glasses and looked hesitantly at her cubicle mate.

Their desks shared opposite walls of the cubicle. While hers somehow ended up with stacks of paper for note-taking and several mugs from her newly-found coffee addiction, his was impeccably clean. She felt even more disheveled as she knocked a pen off the desk onto the floor. Heero leaned back in his chair, watching her as she clinked the pens back into the mug.

"S—section five," Ami repeated, straightening up.

"That's where mistakes with Emergency Squad usually end up. Their system is separate from the rest of Preventers, as you know."

"Thank you."

He nodded before turning away, leaving Ami to gape like a fish out of water. Had she just seen a smirk on his face? Was he laughing at her? Her cheeks burned as she gazed back at the screen. She had been working with Heero for almost a year now and she still couldn't shake her nerves around him.

It had to be the Gundam pilot thing. Or the 'he-can-kill-you-with-that-paperclip' thing. Or the 'one-of-your-best-friends-kidnapped-Relena' thing. Maybe all of the above.

Ami found the error in the code within two minutes. She quickly adjusted it and sent the proof to Heero. "I just sent the—"

"Received," Heero said. She chanced a glance over her shoulder to see his screen was off. Instead, he was working through his phone. "Approved. Forwarded to Laurent."

"Oh," Ami said, faltering the slightest.

"Good work," Heero said, and she wondered if he meant, "Good job following my advice," or, "Good job staring at that screen forever," or—

She stopped herself. Working with Heero was driving her insane. It had been a year, for crying out loud, and if he wanted to do something to her, he would have done it already. Ami ran a hand through her bangs, thinking momentarily that she needed a haircut. And a job.

Next week marked the one year point, the end of her probation. That meant she was no longer obligated to peruse through Preventers' ITD Department. She had almost become fond of the work she did; whenever she got close to thinking it, however, she quickly remembered that it was punishment.

Ami found herself watching Heero work through his phone. His posture was straight but relaxed, and the lines around his mouth had faded. He was in a good mood. Well, she hadn't ever really seen him in a _bad_ mood, so to speak, but there were times where he treated the job as little more than babysitting. Which, of course, she couldn't blame him for. It practically was.

Her thoughts drifted to Minako as her eyes fell on the single photograph she had stuck on the wall of her cubicle. It was of the five of them—her, Minako, Usagi, Makoto and Rei—all hugging each other in the snow, a week before the attempted kidnapped of Relena (otherwise known as The Incident, as they liked to call it). Artemis and Luna were perched on their respective owners' shoulders. She smiled at the photograph, reaching out to fold back a crease in the corner.

The organization had not acted. Ever since Minako's own probation had ended months ago, she made it a habit to drop by at least once a month to update Ami. Unfortunately, there was no progress at all. Une was almost giving up on finding this organization altogether, saying that funding was too much for the resources in trying to track them down.

"So what happens?" Ami had asked. Minako had shrugged.

"I turn my pretty blue eyes on Une and ask her not to drop me?"

It had been a joke, but when the time neared, Minako had resorted to doing exactly that; somehow, it worked, and she and Sally had been granted two months' worth of funding.

"Mizuno."

Ami's eyes snapped away from the photograph as she whirled in her chair. Heero was looking at her with an odd expression on his face. "Y-yes, Agent Yuy?"

The lines around his mouth returned. "Yuy is fine," he said. If Ami had been keeping count, she would have realized that was the three hundredth time he'd said that to her. The lines faded away and the odd expression returned. Ami almost thought it could be uncertainty, but uncertainty didn't belong on a face like Heero Yuy's.

"Is there something I can do?" Ami pressed.

"No." Heero shook his head. "I'm leaving on vacation in a little bit. I won't be back for a week."

"Oh," Ami said. She blinked. "Are you doing anything interesting?"

"A wedding party."

"That sounds exciting." Ami smiled. These were moments she enjoyed. As much as Heero flustered her, he also calmed her. It was an odd thought, she knew, but working with him for a year had allowed her to find a weird balance. It was the only way they could function, anyway, without dying of social awkwardness. "You're taking a week off, though, is it a far trip?"

"Syria."

Ami blinked again. She couldn't help but laugh. "I can't really imagine you in the desert."

Heero stared at her. Right, how could she forget, kill-you-with-that-paperclip. Before she could clarify, he shrugged. The action looked entirely odd on him. Ami had never seen him shrug. He was more of the type to roll his eyes. "It isn't bad."

"I've never been," Ami said, wondering if she should continue the conversation.

"It's far."

"It would be a nice break from all this snow, though."

"Hm."

They fell into silence again. Ami glanced at her screen before turning it off. Maybe she'd take a lunch break soon. It was earlier than usual, but it was better than sitting around and wasting time. And she could finally get a good pick of sandwiches. The good sandwiches always ran out before she got there.

"You should apply," Heero said, interrupting her thoughts. Ami couldn't help stare a little bit.

"Apply—here?"

Heero gave a short nod. She blushed.

"I'm not sure—I don't have much experience—"

"You just worked with me for a year," Heero pointed out bluntly.

"I know, but," Ami said, and he raised his eyebrows.

"You could use me as a reference, if that's what is bothering you."

"No, that's not it, although thank you," Ami said. How in the world did their conversation turn out like this? He was looking at her expectantly. She abruptly stood up, bowing to him. "Thank you."

When she recomposed herself back in her seat, she saw that he looked uncomfortable. Not for the first time, she had probably overstepped boundaries. Her cheeks still flushed, she cleared her throat. Heero looked back at his phone. "You're welcome."

If only the other girls could see her now, she thought, mortified. Minako reveled in Ami's socially awkward adventures with Heero, even if she still held a grudge against him; she claimed they were the greatest life lessons, especially compared to Rei's anti-social lifestyle. Even Makoto and Usagi thought it was hilarious; they had taken to tallying up the number of times she had stuck her foot in her mouth around him.

"Heero."

Ami almost jumped at the new voice; she looked around before her eyes settled on a head peering over the top of the cubicle. The corner of Heero's lip lifted in a smile. "You're early."

"Just a little. I thought you might want to take the earlier flight so we don't have to sit with Duo."

Ami was a natural multi-tasker; she could absorb several different things at once and essentially put her body on auto-pilot if need be. The beauty of it all was that while she was doing many things, her brain actually focused on one thought at a time. At the moment, her eyes took in several things—that the newcomer also wore a Preventers jacket but she had never seen him before, that he and Heero were on a first-name basis, and that he knew Heero well enough to know that he wouldn't want to spend an entire flight listening to Agent Maxwell yap away.

Her mind, however, could only concentrate on the fact that, "If this newcomer's voice if had a physical form, it might be red velvet cake dripped in butter cream frosting with chocolate-drizzled strawberries on the side." And apparently, she was not as great as multi-tasking as she thought, because both men fell absolutely quiet as they stared at her.

Ami had never seen Heero looking that surprised before. There had been the occasional eyebrow lift and an even rare blink, but the combination of both had never made its debut. She tucked the image away for later. "Um," she said.

"I might prefer caramel," the newcomer responded.

It took Ami five seconds to realize she had spoken aloud. By then, her brain had already shut down and she was left with nothing else to do but sputter and stare. Heero took pity on her and cleared his throat. "I'm leaving then."

"Right, right," Ami squeaked, tucking her hair behind her ear. She watched as he stood up. The newcomer's face was polite, but Ami was pretty sure that he was thinking that she was incredibly daft. "Right."

"Any questions?"

"Um," Ami said, fiddling with the mug of pens. "No. Well! Yes. Who's going to—that is, who am I going to be—"

"Agent Fire will be here by noon," Heero said, picking up on her train of thought.

"Agent Fire," Ami repeated, wondering if that was a codename. She deliberately avoided the newcomer's eye as she stood up and bowed again. "Thank you."

"Good... work," Heero said haltingly. He put his phone away in his pocket as he fixed her with his stare. Ami had always thought that he demanded attention, whether he knew it or not.

"Have a safe flight," she chose to say. Then her eyes flicked to the newcomer and her face burned bright red again. She fumbled with her hands as the two of them turned and made their way off.

Ami heaved a huge sigh, until Heero paused and turned back around.

"I turned your application in for you," Heero said, and Ami promptly knocked over her mug. The pens spilled all over the floor. She didn't care.

"You did _what_?!"

"I also included a reference letter," he said. Beside him, the newcomer looked slightly amused. "I'll see you when I get back, Mizuno."

"H-heero!" Ami shouted, drawing the attention of other workers on the floor. In the heat of the moment, Ami had forgotten all about paperclips and Gundam pilots. "You can't _do_ that, you're not—you're not _me_!"

Heero raised his eyebrows, as if to say, "Obviously."

"I can't believe this," Ami muttered, throwing her hands up in the air. She whirled around, taking a few steps towards the stairwell, intent on fixing things before his voice stopped her.

"You don't want to work here?"

"No! No, I do—"

"Then what is the problem?" Ami stared, as she realized she often did when she was around him. "By the time your probation is over, your hiring process will have been completed."

"Did—did you," Ami started to say before she fell quiet. Had he done that because he wanted to keep her around? That was absurd. He was Heero Yuy, and she was a sort-of once-wanted criminal. That, and she knew he couldn't stand the random visits from Minako.

"I believe there is an organization you wished to track," Heero said. Ami's mouth went dry as this time he really made his leave. The newcomer—Barton, his badge said clearly—gave her a final glance before he followed after Heero.

She didn't miss the way he had phrased it—an organization you _wished_ to track.

"Barton, hey! What are you doing hanging around this old granny pants?"

Ami's head shot up at the very familiar (and very loud) voice. Minako had stopped the two of them from making their graceful exit; as usual, Heero's right eyebrow lowered as it always did in the presence of the blonde. She was wearing, to Ami's dismay, a direct violation of the uniform. Sure, she had the slacks and the jacket, but the shirt she wore underneath showed enough skin that a passing worker almost tripped over his own feet. To top it off, Artemis perched daintily on her shoulder, licking a paw casually.

"Aino," Barton greeted, looking faintly amused as he glanced from her to Heero. Heero, it seemed, was trying to pretend that she wasn't there.

"Aw come on," Minako said, leaning forward and nudging Barton. Ami felt her world shrink, wondering how on earth her friend knew the guy she had verbally sexually assaulted. "Call me Minako."

"And I suppose you want to call me Trowa?"

Minako's grin widened. "If you insist," she sang. "What are you two great guys up to today?"

"A wedding party," Trowa answered, his lips quirking up just the slightest. He seemed to be a man of little things—little quips, little actions, little nuances. Then Ami realized she was staring and averted her gaze back to the calendar taped wall of her cubicle. She shouldn't be eavesdropping, she thought. She should go and greet Minako, face this Trowa Barton with whatever dignity she had left and apologize to Heero for yelling at him earlier.

Her feet, however, just didn't want to cooperate.

"What, no way!" Minako gasped, her eyes shining. "I love wedding parties! Are you sure this guy here won't be a killjoy?"

She jabbed her thumb at Heero, whose other eyebrow lowered. "Aino, do you need something?"

"Lighten up, bub," Minako said, her tone taking on a sarcastic route. Her hands perched on her hips as she finally faced him. "And yes, as a matter of fact, I _do_ need something. I'm here to rescue my friend from your dirty little clutches."

Trowa's lips quirked up again as he glanced at Heero. 'Dirty little clutches?,' his look seemed to say.

"You need an official release statement from—"

"Done and done," Minako said, producing a folded sheet of paper from her back pocket. She dangled it in Heero's face. "As a matter of fact, this will be the last release statement. I just heard that in lieu of the new employee enrollment process, they're taking her off probation a week early."

Ami gaped, whipping her head in their direction. All semblance of propriety was gone as she rushed over. "They're doing what?"

"Oh, hey," Minako said, blinking a few times as if she hadn't known her friend was there. Artemis mewed a hello.

"What did you say?"

Minako grinned, shoving past Heero (Trowa gave him another amused glance, one he promptly ignored) and throwing her arms around Ami. "Congratulations! Lady Une sent me here to bring you the good news! You're the newest employee here at Preventers' ITD!"

Ami clutched at her friend, torn between apprehension and utter joy. She had no time to be an official worker, what with the terrorist organization looming in the back of her mind, but the job—and working with Heero—had given her a reason to (dare she think it?) live again. It was more than just studying for grades and trying to get into medical school. She was _learning_. That thought itself suddenly made everything worth it, and all doubts were pushed away.

She chanced a glance at Heero, whose small smile caused her to start laughing. It was all thanks to him, she thought as she pulled away from Minako. Without warning, Ami sprang forward and bowed deeply to Heero. "Thank you so much," she said, her voice bubbling over with ecstasy.

When she straightened up, she saw that his smile had fallen. He looked uncomfortable again, as he was keen to do whenever she thanked him. Before she could apologize, Minako grabbed her by the shoulder.

"So!" the blonde said as Artemis clung to her jacket with her sudden movements. "Everyone's waiting."

"Everyone?" Ami tilted her head, brow creased in thought. "You mean—"

"_We_," Minako said, wagging her finger under her friend's nose, "are totally going to celebrate, and Usagi is _not_ taking no for an answer."

"Oh dear," Ami said, hand at her mouth. The idea of everyone gathered together had her excited, but the thought of Usagi celebrating... Her worry increased when Minako started cackling. "Are you sure that's a smart idea? Usagi and alcohol—"

"Mako's making Pudding of Relativity!" Minako slipped her arm through hers. "Effectively immediately, you are off duty until tomorrow."

"But—"

Ami's protests were drowned by the sound of the world's smallest violin as Minako brushed past Heero. "Have fun at the wedding party, Barton!"

Heero clenched his teeth, trying not to sigh as Minako just winked at him before she dragged Ami out of the office. He glanced at his phone, ignoring the tic in his cheek. "What time is our flight?"

"We have time," Trowa said mirthfully. To others it would seem he was bored with the situation that transpired. Heero, however, knew better than that. Trowa was laughing right in his face, and he wasn't even trying to hide it.

x

When Duo had met Setsuna a year ago, she had been seven months pregnant. She had been beautiful, of course she had, but the child she carried around prevented him from hitting on her. He knew better than that; the last time he'd flirted with a pregnant woman, her husband had chased him straight out of the market and down the street for a good ten minutes.

So when he walked into Rashid's house and dropped his duffle bag onto the ground, he did not expect to see her wearing a pair of short shorts and bending over to pick up a few toys off the ground. She straightened up and tossed the toys onto the counter, but Duo was still fixated on those legs of hers. He mentally apologized to Rashid when she whirled around and he caught sight of the rest of her.

Rashid's wife was _hot_.

"Oh, Duo!" Upon spotting him, a smile curved her lips. Duo couldn't _not_ stare; her mysterious little smile was probably even more attractive than those long long legs. She approached him and enveloped him in a brief hug. "Rashid told me to expect you. Your trip here was fine?"

"Better now that I'm in the presence of a beautiful woman," Duo replied instantly, turning the charm up a notch. Setsuna actually blushed.

"He also told me not to respond to your advances," she said. Duo laughed.

"Sounds like Rashid all right." He leaned against the counter, playing with one of the toys. Setsuna gave him an amused look before pouring him a drink. "So, why's the wedding party so late?"

Setsuna played with the fringe of her hair. "The wedding was so stressful that Rashid and I just wanted to relax for a bit."

"A bit," Duo repeated, looking amused. "It's been a year."

"I didn't even have a honeymoon," Setsuna said with a sad little sigh. Duo wondered how she also managed to look so cute.

"You're kidding," he said, propping his chin on a fist. "You know, we could ditch this place and I'll take you to Italy."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Really? And what about my little boy?"

Duo feigned a nervous laugh, scratching his cheek. "Right, the little tyke. Say, how's he doing?"

Setsuna rolled her eyes, even going so far as to lightly slap his shoulder. When they had met a year ago, they had hit it off. It was a surprise to both Quatre and Rashid—cool, collected Setsuna getting along with playful and loud Duo? Quatre had never seen the teasing side of Setsuna (it unnerved him considerably), and Rashid wasn't sure if he liked Duo (and his incessant charm) hanging around his wife. "He started crawling a month ago," she said, a fond look appearing across her features. "And he's eating everything."

"Fatty," Duo said. "Where is he? He probably forgot all about Uncle Duo."

As if on cue, Quatre walked into the room with a fat little kid in his arms. The toddler stared right at Duo, head tilted. Duo wondered for a second if he was being judged.

"Duo!" Quatre exclaimed, striding forward. He threw one arm around his friend, squishing the child in between them. The toddler squawked, flailing pudgy arms. "You're early! I wasn't expecting you for another couple of hours. Trowa just called, he and Heero just landed."

"What? I thought I had them beat!" Duo moped for five seconds before he turned his eyes on the kid. "So, Q, this little guy yours?"

With the way Quatre's face burned bright red, Duo wondered why his friend never sunburned. "Duo!"

"Whoever he is, his mom must be hot," Duo said, grinning. Setsuna rolled her eyes again, but she couldn't hide her small smile. She held out her hands and the baby immediately started squirming. Quatre handed him over, looking almost fond as Setsuna tsked.

"Rai, did you throw your food at Uncle Quatre again?"

Quatre sheepishly shrugged as Rai—that was the kid's name, Duo remembered, Rai—just stared at his mother with big innocent eyes. "Actually, I was trying to teach him how to add and he didn't like it."

"Don't blame him." Duo made a face at Rai, who turned to stare at him blankly. Duo, however, was not one to give up. He stuck his thumb in the corner of his mouth and yanked upwards while crossing his eyes and pushing up his nose. It was a second before Rai fell into a peal of giggles.

"Cute," Setsuna said, pulling her hair from her son's grip. She peered down at him, pressing her nose close. "Ready for naptime, _ouji_? Say goodnight to Uncle Quatre and Uncle Duo."

Rai made a warble of noises that Duo translated as, "Goodnight my favorite uncles, see you in a few hours." Setsuna gave the two of them one last smile before she disappeared up the stairs. They both watched her go; Quatre let out a breath.

"He is such a handful," Quatre said, shaking his head fondly. Duo laughed.

"He's a kid, kids are handfuls."

"I suppose." Quatre smiled slightly, picking up the toys off the counter. He played with one idly for a minute, slowly becoming lost in his own thoughts. Duo raised his eyebrows, only guessing what he was thinking of.

"You still don't like her?" Duo mused after a moment. Quatre's thoughtful expression quickly turned abashed.

"Is it—I don't—"

"Relax," Duo said, drumming his fingers on the counter. "At least you're talking to her."

Cue the flashback to when Duo last visited. It had been the wedding, Rashid and Setsuna had just become husband and wife and Duo had been pulling at his stuffy collar. It wasn't the traditional wear that had bothered him but rather the stifling heat. How could anyone stand it?

"Let me know when we can hit the bar," Duo muttered to Quatre, whose response (a polite laugh and an eye roll) was five seconds delayed. "Yo, dude, you okay?"

"Hmm?" Quatre blinked. Aside from his slight daydreaming, he seemed absolutely comfortable in his own suit. "I'm fine, why?"

It took Duo ten minutes later, when Setsuna and Rashid addressed their audience for the first time as a married couple, to understand. It was in the way Quatre was smiling too hard, as if he were afraid he would grimace if he let his guard down. He confronted the blonde later, after several drinks, and Quatre admitted to his suspicions of the bride.

Duo personally thought he was jealous, but he never said anything. He currently furrowed his brow when Quatre finally spoke again.

"I still don't know what it is," he said quietly. "Something about her..."

"I've run all the background checks I know how," Duo said for the hundredth time since meeting Setsuna. "Nothing comes up. She's clean."

"It's not that." Quatre ran a hand through his hair before he let it go. He unwrapped the food-stained scarf from around his neck, slinging it over his shoulder. It was rare to see Quatre out of slacks and a button-up, but Duo always found the change welcome. It somehow made Quatre seem more comfortable, more in his own natural element. "Never mind, let's forget it."

Just as he spoke, the front door burst open. As Duo tried to rear in his instincts (his hands were already reaching for the gun that wasn't in the holster that he wasn't wearing), he spotted a mildly excited look on Quatre's face.

"Monsieur Winner!"

For a second, Duo wondered if maybe Rashid was hiding all the hotties. Then he wondered if it was all a part of _Quatre's_ plan, because the pretty young woman kissed the blonde on each cheek before grinning. Quatre didn't even bat an eyelash as his eyes lit up. "I was wondering when you would show. I thought maybe you'd gotten lost."

"It's because been so long! I almost didn't recognize you without that suit, it's as if we're strangers now," she teased. Duo thought she had the cutest pout. He glanced at Quatre just in time to see him laugh. There was a playful look on his face.

"That's true, you didn't even make it to the wedding."

"Business is business," she replied with a shrug. Her eyes fell on Duo and she blinked, as if suddenly realizing he was there. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I am Hotaru."

Duo grasped the hand she offered, but instead of shaking it he brought it to his lips. "It's a pleasure, Hotaru."

He winked. Hotaru stared at him. Then she stared at Quatre.

"Duo," Quatre sighed, shaking his head.

"Duo," Hotaru repeated, pulling her hand from his grasp. A small smile turned up her lips. "So you are Abdul's infamous poker partner."

"You've heard of me," Duo said before he turned to Quatre with a smirk. "The pretty lady's heard of me."

"He is indeed Abdul's infamous poker partner," Hotaru commented to Quatre, who wondered how he got in between them. He moved around Hotaru, picking up the suitcase she had deposited on the floor as well as Duo's duffle bag.

"I take it Haruka isn't far behind?"

"Haruka's already drunk," she replied. "She and Michiru tried to play that game on the flight here—"

"Oh," Quatre said, a faintly worried look coming over him. He paused on his way up the stairs. "_That_ game."

They shared a moment in which they recollected the number of times Haruka tried to out drink Michiru. Duo, having met both Haruka and Michiru at the actual wedding, knew exactly what this game was. Michiru, a beautiful young woman from an affluent family in Russia, had introduced herself as a violinist. Before they could get any further than that, Haruka, glitzy and glamorous with the charm of Verona about her, sauntered in.

The rest of the night consisted of him trying to flirt with Michiru, only to be challenged by Haruka, only to quickly learn that Michiru was as stereotypically Russian as it got. She effortlessly drank them both under the table.

"That Michiru," Duo said fondly.

It was an hour later, after getting both Hotaru and Duo settled, when Quatre ushered them out of the mansion and into the streets of Maganac Village. Heero, Trowa and Wufei, accompanied by Sally, had already been taken hostage by Abdul and his liquor stash. Quatre lead them deeper into the village, pausing to greet celebrators who tossed flowers at them and offered blessings of fortune.

The wedding party was extravagantly large. The whole village was celebrating the marriage; everyone was saying that it was about time Rashid loosened up. Duo couldn't remember how many times someone told him that Setsuna was the best thing for the uptight man. "That's great and all," Duo grumbled after the old woman who babbled about the couple hobbled away, "but where's the big guy himself?"

As if on cue, the door to the nearest little bar opened and Rashid stumbled out with a tall blonde clinging to him.

"One more round!" the blonde roared in perfect Arabic. Rashid laughed heartily, thumping her on the back.

"You can't handle one more round!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" The blonde maneuvered herself so that she was hanging onto Rashid's back, with her arms wrapped around his neck in a sleep hold. "I can choke you even when I'm drunk, Kurama!"

Rashid chuckled again, easily flipping her over his shoulder. She landed with a thud on the dirt ground. "Oof!"

"Haruka!" Quatre started forward, pulling the blonde to a sitting position. Haruka just slumped over him, grinning toothily. He had to admit—even when she was blubbering drunk, she was still undeniably charming. It had to be the devil-may-care grin.

"Hey there, champ!" Haruka bellowed, and she kissed Quatre on each cheek.

"What would Michiru think of you, Ten'ou?" Rashid taunted, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her up. She immediately swayed on her feet.

"She loves me no matter what," Haruka sang. Her eyes spotted Duo, but she squinted for a moment before her vision cleared. She stumbled forward, clasping her hand on Duo's shoulder. "Hey, Maxwell!"

Duo reeled back in laughter. "Woo, you stink of booze."

"And _you_," Haruka said, leaning in closer, "do _not_. We must fix that now."

The door to the bar opened again, and Michiru—composed as ever, even in the sweltering heat—smiled at them all. "Well," she said, "isn't this a party?"

Graceful as ever, she made her way down the steps. The sweltering heat seemed to have no effect on her. Haruka spun around, her arms open wide. "Baby!"

Michiru's eyebrow rose. She exchanged a glance with Quatre, who smiled slightly. "I believe she's talking to you," he said.

"Of _course_ I am talking to her." Haruka draped herself over Michiru front, who rolled her eyes. "Baby, I know you and Quatre are having an affair, but I don't mind—"

Quatre blushed and sputtered as Duo burst into laughter, especially when Michiru winked at the blonde. Quatre turned to Rashid for help; Rashid merely chuckled and slapped him on the back merrily. "An affair, Master Quatre!"

"An affair," Haruka repeated, sounding almost confused. Then her eyes lit up. "Hotaru? Hotaru, baby?"

Hotaru cut off mid-giggle, suddenly looking wary. She started to step away, even going so far as to nudge Duo in front of her. "No," she said defensively. "Don't even—"

"Hotaru, will you have an affair with me?" Haruka staggered forward, using Rashid as a support as she tried to launch herself at Hotaru. Hotaru shoved Duo forward, who was left to be ensnared in Haruka's clutches. Haruka didn't seem to mind. "Maxwell! My Maxwell!"

"Come on, before we get caught," Hotaru whispered to Quatre, taking his hand and pulling him away. The two of them rushed down the street, ignoring Duo's wail of protest as Haruka cuddled him obnoxiously.

"She hasn't changed a bit," Quatre laughed as they ducked under a large floral arrangement. The two of them glanced over their shoulders before deciding that they were in the clear. Minutes later, Duo caught up with them, looking incredibly hassled. He had also managed to round up Heero and Wufei, who were both looking amused as his exasperation.

"You left me there!" Duo complained, punching Quatre's shoulder. Quatre feigned innocence.

"Did I? I was just trying to show Hotaru around."

"It's true," Hotaru added. "I haven't been here in awhile."

"Hmph," Duo said, crossing his arms and peering at her. "If you weren't so cute, I'd be mad at you too."

Wufei snorted. "Maxwell—"

"_Chang_," Duo sniped right back.

"You are so obnoxious," Wufei said without missing a beat. Quatre swore he saw Heero roll his eyes.

"Did you make it here alright?" Quatre asked Heero, who nodded briskly. "That's good. And your belongings—"

"We left them with Auda," Heero answered. His eyes fell on Hotaru, who was trying not to laugh at Duo's obvious flirting. While Heero said nothing, Quatre easily saw the suspicion in his eyes. It was hard, he supposed, to put to rest old habits. Heero wasn't even an agent on field; he had purposely chosen ITD in order to try to suppress the soldier in him.

Before he could say something, there was a sudden tremor through the ground. Quatre whipped his head around, bewildered; his gaze found Abdul's and he gave him a look. Abdul immediately disappeared into the crowd to find the source. Heero, on the other hand, stuck close to Quatre.

"Explosives," he murmured quietly. Quatre immediately took back his earlier thoughts; old habits were never supposed to sleep, or else they would have been dead a long time ago. "A warning shot, most likely."

"Can you tell where?" Quatre could barely breathe. Around him, people were oblivious to the tension. "We have to—"

"There will be more," Wufei said. His eyes fell on Sally, who was gazing around calmly. People were rushing past her, crying and clinging to each other, but she was completely still as she surveyed the scene. Water, he thought. That was a fitting codename for her. "We need to evacuate the people and find the detonator before—"

Another rumble, this one louder than before. Sally then moved into action, pulling the nearest people around her and directing them to safety. Quatre took a few steps forward before Trowa suddenly appeared. "Trowa—"

Trowa said nothing, continuing briskly through the crowd. He was focused on something—someone, Quatre realized, but when his gaze followed Trowa's line of sight, he almost wished that he hadn't.

Hotaru was facing Duo with an unusually somber look on her face. Duo's own features were grim as he held out his hand. "Come on, now, you don't want to do that."

Hotaru looked past his shoulder, to where Rashid stood out in the crowd like a mountain. Then her gaze went back to Duo. He took a step forward; she raised her arm.

There was a detonator in her hand. Quatre's heart leapt. "What are you—"

"I'm sorry," Hotaru said to him. She pressed the button and the world rocked in an explosion; all they felt was searing heat biting at their faces. Quatre shielded his eyes, moving towards them. Trowa, however, grabbed him and pulled him down, just as a large ember flew right over them. Duo raced after Hotaru, who had turned on her heel and darted off the second she set off the explosion.

"Master Quatre!"

Rashid was pushing through the frantic crowd, looking remarkably calm for someone whose wedding party had just been blown up. But it was Rashid, and he was strong where others were not—steady when others were shaking. Trowa pulled Quatre up, thrusting him into Rashid's arm. He didn't have to tell the older man to snap Quatre out of his daze; Rashid was already applying pressure to points on the blonde's neck.

Trowa glanced back at the destruction, which seemed, somehow, confined. He frowned thoughtfully as a slight theory came to him. Heero got to his feet, narrowing his eyes at the sight before him. "Wufei—"

"Korona explosives," Wufei said automatically. He had been hit by some debris from the explosion, but luckily it had only been stray rocks. He ignored the blood dripping down his arm as he stooped down to retrieve the detonator. He turned it over in his hands. "Outdated product, discontinued from AC 194."

Heero understood the implication. Either Hotaru had been dealing underground (which was unlikely, as not many dealers would want to trade expired goods) or the explosives came from the direct source—Korona, a company owned by the prestigious Kai'ou family in Russia. His eyes fell on the hysterical crowd, catching sight of a regally composed face.

Trowa acted within seconds, flitting through the crowd and locking Michiru's arms behind her. She hardly seemed surprised, taking instead to glance over her shoulder. A cold look came over her features before she allowed Trowa to lead her through the crowd.

Wufei was already contacting Lady Une directly. Heero turned to see Quatre reassuring Rashid that he was fine, that his shock had passed over, that he needed to get everyone to safety and survey the damage and take accounting estimates as well as make sure that someone was tracking Hotaru.

"Duo's already on her trail," Heero said. "We need to—"

"Sweep the area for more explosives," Quatre said, turning to Rashid. "Treat the injured. Auda can take the lead into investigating the damage."

"And you?"

Quatre exchanged a glance with Heero. Heero nodded just the slightest, and he spoke the words that his heart dreaded. "We're going to have a talk with Michiru."

* * *

**an **man, this came out a little later than expected. but it's here! i suppose it might be a little confusing with the time jump, but ask and i shall explain? i hope the outers' involvement right now isn't _too_ odd... it'll all be cleared up eventually, but i didn't want to overload this chapter.

also, i'm not quite sure where the maganac village and quatre's desert mansion precisely is, so i picked syria.

JPandS: so no usagi (yet). this chapter took a little step backwards in character and more of plot, but hopefully it's not a turnoff. i personally think setsuna and rashid would be adorable! he's such a strong guy, in and out, and i adore him haha he doesn't get enough love! just think—without him, quatre would be a pansy little space boy who hates the world hahaha. anyway, i hope you enjoyed this one :D thanks for reading!

Aurora of Moonblade: thanks for reading! more outer senshi goodness! i apologize if they seem muddled or suddenly "thrown in there" but explanations will come. ^^ and totally agree about minako being shameless hahaha that's a part of her natural charm. i also think she would love to get on heero's nerve just for the sake of seeing his reactions haha.

thank you all for reading! xo


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